Shadows of The Past
by KaylaMicael
Summary: The Warners meet a young woman who delivers shocking news about something in their past. The following events will challenge their small family more than anything they have known. Please read and review, and I own nothing!
1. The Visit

Snapping his paddleball casually, Yakko glanced at his siblings in the other seats. Dot was practicing different cute faces in a mirror, and Wakko was staring off into space with intense concentration. He hoped this early appointment wouldn't take long; they had to get to Plotz's office before he got in so they could mix up his files and hide his signing pen.

"All right, you can go in now," the nurse said. Yakko raised an eyebrow and grinned slyly.

"I dunno… I kinda like it out here."

"Me too!" said Wakko, who had snapped out of his daydreaming.

Dot rolled her eyes as she hopped off her seat.

"Boys."

Her brothers followed her into Scratchy's office, throwing amorous gazes at the nurse until the door closed. Once inside, all three bounded over the psychiatry couch and flopped down.

"How ya doin', Scratchy?" Yakko asked. To his surprise, Scratchansniff looked more uneasy than he did annoyed.

"Yes, hello," he said. "Zis morning, my little friends, we vill not be having a session."

Yakko glanced at his siblings, and then hopped off the couch.

"So can we go?"

"Well, no," Scratchy said. "Zere is someone here zat I think you should meet."

The siblings glanced at each other uneasily; the last few times Scratchy had brought someone in to 'meet them', it hadn't been very much fun.

"We're not doing a group with Elmira again, are we?" Yakko asked uneasily. Dot pretended to faint as Wakko yelped and yanked his hat over his eyes.

"No, nozing like zat," Scratchy quickly said. As the Warners watched suspiciously, he pressed a button on his intercom and spoke.

"Miss Nurse? Send her in, please."

After a moment, the door to the office opened again and a slender young woman wearing jeans and an elaborately embroidered t-shirt stepped in. Her large green eyes had a soft, kind look and she had wavy strawberry blonde hair tied in a loose bun. The boys immediately leaped to their feet.

"Helloooo, nurse!"

Dot glared at them, then looked back at the newcomer. Even she had to admit this lady was pretty, despite her unfortunate fashion sense.

"Who are you?" she asked, ignoring her brothers as they ogled her. The woman smiled uneasily and nodded a greeting.

"I'm Kay," she said in a gentle, shy voice. "Kay Nichols. I'm a private investigator."

"You investigate private stuff?" Wakko asked, cocking his head.

Yakko blew a kiss.

"G'night, everybody!"

The woman, Kay, blinked a few times, then cleared her throat.

"Well, no…" she said. "That means I do detective work outside of the police."

"Why would y' do it inside them?" Yakko asked.

Kay opened her mouth to speak again, then rubbed her head.

"Okay, um, let's just say I'm a detective."

Dot frowned and crossed her arms.

"Why didn't you say that to start with?"

Looking thoroughly confused by now, Kay glanced at Scratchy, who shrugged. The three siblings grinned; messing with someone new was always fun.

"Okay…" Kay said. "Well, I'm a detective, and the studio hired me to investigate some recent attacks on local toons."

The Warners immediately grew solemn. Everyone in the toon community knew about that. Kay chewed her bottom lip uneasily, and then went on.

"Anyway, during my investigation, I linked the attacks to a pattern that's been recurring over the past five years. All the descriptions have been of the same person, and his more recent victims have all been friends or relatives of toons he's gone after in the past."

Yakko glanced at his siblings, then back at Kay.

"So, uh… what's that got to do with us?"

He frowned as she started chewing her lip again, then rubbed her neck.

"Well, as I was looking at the cases, I found one that… well…"

Yakko shifted in his seat; this was starting to get weird. He glanced over at Wakko and Dot, who looked just as uneasy as him.

"Oh, how do I say this…" Kay murmured to herself, rubbing her temples. "The man behind these attacks is… he's the same person who… who…"

She dropped off again, biting her lip as she looked down. Dot huffed, losing her patience.

"Who what?" she demanded. After a moment, Kay took a deep breath and slowly looked up. Her next words were as unexpected as they were completely shocking.

"Who killed your parents."


	2. Old Wounds

Yakko stared at Kay in shock. In the five years since the accident that caused their parents' death, all the police had been able to determine was that it was staged; a toon hater had gotten into Toontown and sprayed DIP on the road. But they'd never gotten a lead on who the hater was, and Yakko had assumed they never would.

"W-… what?" he choked.

Kay sighed heavily and looked at the floor again.

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly. "I know how hard it must be for you to hear this, but I felt you had a right to know. And…"

She hesitated, then looked up again.

"I'm worried that you three might be in danger from him now."

The shock of Kay's news was quickly replaced with fear as Yakko remembered what she had said earlier; how the toon hater had been attacking relatives of previous victims. A soft whimper made him look at his brother and sister. Both were trembling, their eyes wide and scared.

"Yakko…" Dot whimpered. "I'm too cute to die."

Quickly pushing back his own fright, Yakko forced a reassuring smile as he hugged his shaking siblings.

"It's okay, sibs," he said. "It'll be okay."

He looked back at Kay, who was watching with sympathetic eyes. She smiled gently at him before continuing.

"I've informed the local police and I'm helping track the suspect down. I think it would be a good idea if you stayed around the lot till we get some leads."

Yakko frowned slightly; he wasn't fond of being told what to do, but he still nodded. Turning to his siblings, he managed a smile.

"You guys go ahead," he said. "I'll be right behind ya."

Nodding slightly, both slid off the couch and slowly moved to the door, staying close together. Once they were out, Yakko turned to Kay.

"How long do ya think it'll be?"

Kay sighed and shrugged.

"I'm sorry, but there's no way to know for sure. I'll let you know as soon as I know something."

Reaching into a bag over her shoulder, she pulled out a notecard and handed it to him.

"Here's my number, call me anytime if you have questions."

She glanced up at the clock and chewed her bottom lip again.

"I've gotta go, but I'll talk to you tomorrow. Just make sure to be careful, okay?"

Despite the urge to demand more answers, Yakko sighed and nodded.

"We'll be fine."

Kay nodded and headed out. As she passed Yakko, she gently touched his shoulder. He looked up and saw genuine concern and sympathy in her face.

"I really am sorry," she said. "Not just for scaring you, but… for what happened to your mom and dad."

The sincerity in her voice was strangely comforting, and Yakko couldn't help smiling.

"Thanks."

As he headed back to the tower, however, his smile quickly faded. Even after five years, he had never been able to bring himself to tell Wakko and Dot the truth. Now for them to hear it like this, from a complete stranger… he groaned and rubbed his head.

_Nice job, big brother. _

…

Dot lay on her side on her bed, tears slowly sliding down her face. She was numb from the news of what happened to their parents. Of course, she was only two when they died, but the few things she did remember always made her smile and she missed them very much.

_How could someone __**do**__ that?_

Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door.

"Dot? Can I come in?" Yakko called from outside.

Dot wiped her eyes and sat up.

"Yeah," she said stiffly. She couldn't help feeling angry that he'd known the truth all this time and never said anything. The door opened and her oldest brother came over and sat on the side of the bed.

"You okay?" he asked gently. Dot looked down and shuffled her feet, then looked up.

"Why didn't you ever tell us?" she asked sharply. "About Mom and Dad?"

Her brother immediately looked away. After a few minutes, he sighed heavily and let his head drop to his hand.

"I just…"

He sighed again and looked up; his eyes were dull.

"You guys were so little. Knowing something like that… I couldn't do that to you. Heck, I was eight and I could barely take it. And when you got older, it… it just didn't seem to matter. I never thought that…"

He looked away as if he couldn't face her.

"I'm sorry. I really screwed up."

Dot shifted uneasily; she felt a little bad for being upset with him. She found herself wondering how he must have felt being eight years old and suddenly alone with two younger siblings to take care of.

"You didn't screw up," she said quietly. "You just wanted to protect us."

Yakko rolled his eyes.

"A great job I did of that," he muttered bitterly. Now Dot felt truly sorry for him. She tapped his arm and smiled at him.

"You did." Scooting closer, she snuggled against his side. "You're the best ever."

After a few moments, she felt her brother's arm around her and heard the gratefulness in his voice.

"Thanks, sis."

They sat together for a long time, not saying anything. Then Dot looked up.

"Yakko, do you…?"

She shuddered slightly before continuing.

"Do you really think that guy will… will, um…"

Yakko immediately tightened his arm.

"Don't worry. I won't let that happen," he said firmly. "To either of you."

At those words, Dot smiled and leaned closer. She didn't doubt them for one second. As long as he was here, everything would be fine. After a moment, she remembered something.

"Hey, Yakko… how come Wakko's up on the roof?"

Her brother drew back.

"That's where he is?"

He sighed and shrugged.

"That's just how he deals with stuff sometimes. Says it helps him think. I don't really get it, but it works."

Dot frowned for a minute, then shrugged it off. She had other things to think about besides her weirdo of a brother.

"What about you?" she asked. Yakko looked slightly startled at this question.

"Me?"

"Yeah," Dot nodded. "Are you okay?"

There was a long pause, then he smiled and put his arm around her again.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm fine."

Dot smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.

Just then, she heard the tower door open and close again. Soft footsteps came down the hall, then the sound of the hairdryer. Yakko frowned and hopped off the bed. Curious, Dot followed him to the bathroom. Wakko stood dripping wet over the sink, the dryer aimed at his equally soaked hat. Yakko walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, grinning slightly.

"It started raining, huh?"

The only reply was a tiny nod as Wakko turned off the dryer. He replaced his now dry hat on his head and hopped to the floor. Keeping his head down, he headed for the door, but Yakko stopped him. Dot watched as he gently lifted Wakko's chin and her own eyes widened when she saw the empty, bloodshot eyes. He had clearly been crying the whole time he was outside.

Yakko smiled sadly and pulled Wakko into a hug. Dot's astonishment increased when the normally reserved and quiet middle Warner buried his face in his brother's shoulder, shaking with sobs. Her own eyes filled with tears and she hurried over to hug both her brothers. All three slowly sat on the floor, and Dot started crying softly too as Yakko held her and Wakko.

"We're gonna get through this," he said. "It's gonna be okay."

Despite the tears still falling from her eyes, Dot smiled and nestled closer. She loved how her brother could almost always make her feel better, no matter how bad she felt. Still, there was one thought that hung in the back of her mind.

Could he really keep them safe from something like this?


	3. A Secret?

A gentle breeze blew through the warm California air. From his seat on the tower railing, the younger Warner brother breathed deeply as it stirred his fur; his tail twitched. This would be a perfect day for getting out, raising havoc around the lot, and just having fun.

At least, it would be, he thought regretfully, if they weren't stuck up here by that lady detective's suggestion. Of course, in her defense, an overprotective big brother came into play there too.

"Wak? What're you doing out here?"

_Speak of the devil._

Wakko rolled his eyes and placed his chin in his hand.

"Breathing," he grumbled, still staring across the lot as his tail swished restlessly. He drank in all the fresh air he could as he waited for the order to come back in. Then, to his surprise, his brother hopped up on the railing to sit beside him.

"This sucks, doesn't it?" He looked toward the ocean regretfully. "Bet there's a lot of beach girls out today."

Both boys let out a heavy sigh as they gazed across the lot; pretty women in bikinis would be a welcome change from a cranky little sister. Finally, Wakko shrugged and sat back.

"Just as well… I'd definitely show you up. I've been practicing."

Yakko immediately turned and crossed his arms.

"Oh, really?" he said, raising an eyebrow. Wakko sat up straighter and puffed out his chest in his best 'ladies man' pose. Yakko cocked his head thoughtfully one way, then the other.

"Not bad," he said. Wakko smiled proudly and hopped off the railing, but was stopped by the completion of the sentence.

"But, ahh… there is one thing you should be worried about."

Wakko turned and was startled by the extremely serious look on Yakko's face. He could count the number of times he'd seen him like that on one hand.

"What?" he asked uneasily. Yakko took a deep breath, then a sly grin suddenly spread across his face.

"Me."

With that he leaped from the railing and Wakko let out a startled yelp as he was caught in a tackle. But within a second, the brothers were laughing happily as they scuffled, each trying to pin the other down.

After several minutes, Wakko found himself trapped in a headlock. He growled playfully as he tried to squirm out.

"Truce?" Yakko asked teasingly. Wakko decided it was time to try something else he'd been practicing and carefully stretched his tail up. The minute he found an ear, he morphed the end into a hand and grabbed it, pulling.

"Hey!"

The hold loosened slightly, but it was enough. Bracing his feet, Wakko pulled himself out of his brother's grip and quickly pounced. After a few minutes, Yakko found himself pinned flat on his back with a gloating sibling on top.

"Truce," Wakko said with a goofy grin. The eldest Warner stared for a minute then started laughing as he sat up and shoved him off.

"Lemme up, ya big lump!"

Still grinning, Wakko plunked himself down beside Yakko. As they caught their breath, it occurred to him it had been a long time since they'd played together like this. While he did love his sister and had fun doing things with both his siblings, he did miss the time he got with just his brother. Suddenly he heard Yakko clear his throat before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, sib," he said slowly. "While we're out here, do you wanna… talk about yesterday? I mean, you were pretty upset and…"

He felt the shoulder immediately stiffen and groaned inwardly, knowing he'd pushed too much.

"It wasn't that big a deal," Wakko muttered, shrugging off the hand. "I'm fine."

"I know, but if you…"

Wakko quickly stood. This was what he got for losing control.

"I said I'm fine, okay? Just 'cause I cried once doesn't mean…"

"Okay, okay," Yakko said quickly. "I just thought …"

He was interrupted by a shrill voice from the tower.

"ALL RIGHT, WHO TOOK THE LAST DIET ROOT BEER?"

Both guys winced as their sister came marching out, glaring.

"This is so boring!" she snapped. "It's worse than watching the Disney Channel all day!"

Wakko sighed heavily and flopped on his back, staring up at the sky. For once he agreed with her. He heard Yakko sigh wearily.

"Well," he said uneasily. "We're supposed to stick around here till…"

"Stick around, not sit up here all day!" Dot interrupted. Wakko sighed again, knowing that he was about to endure another round of whining. But to his surprise, Yakko grinned and stood.

"Okay, then," he said. "How about we go find a special friend for today?"

Wakko immediately jumped up and saw his excitement reflected on his sister's face.

"Really?" he said eagerly.

"Why not?" Yakko replied, stretching. "I'm pretty bored myself."

He then raised a finger and grew serious.

"Two things, though… we stick together and nobody wanders off, deal?"

"Deal!" both siblings immediately said.

"And no one mallets the clown by the car wash," Yakko said, looking pointedly at his brother. Wakko crossed his arms and pouted.

"I only did that once," he muttered. "He was looking at me weird."

"Yeah, whatever. Shall we?"

One after another, the trio slid down the ladder and took off, leapfrogging over Ralph before proceeding to annoy anyone naïve enough to cross their path. After tangling Plotz up in his phone cord, they decided to hide by the entrance gate and give a nice Warner Brothers (and Sister) welcome to whoever walked in next.

At the sound of footsteps Yakko looked over at his sister, who was hiding across the walkway. She nodded and gave him a thumbs up. He then glanced at Wakko, who was squashed against the crossing arm, and received a wink in return. The sounds came closer, until Yakko gave a signal. All three instantly leaped from their hiding places.

"HELLO!"

Their target let out a startled yell that revealed she was a woman before tumbling to the ground, papers scattering from the shoulder bag she dropped. Yakko was about to deliver his customary greeting to the female visitor when her hand suddenly shot up and grabbed his wrist, twisting it. He heard Wakko and Dot gasping in fear as he grunted at the pain.

"Hold it right…!" the girl snapped as she quickly sat up, than Yakko found himself looking at a familiar pair of green eyes. The anger in them quickly turned to surprise, then shame and the hold on his wrist instantly loosened. Kay cleared her throat as she pushed back her hair, which had loosened from its bun and tumbled past her shoulders.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, then looked up with concern. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Yakko shook his head, rubbing his wrist. For once he was rendered speechless; he would have hardly equated the soft-spoken, shy person he'd seen yesterday with the one he'd seen moments ago.

"This line of work winds you up kind of tight," Kay said sheepishly, then she smiled. "If you always greet people like that, you might want to make an exception in my case."

Yakko cocked his head, surprised.

_She's not mad? That's a first._

Meanwhile, his siblings were gathering up the things from her bag, having no qualms about looking each one over curiously. Wakko picked up some pieces of paper and leafed through them, his eyes widening slightly. He walked up to Kay and tapped her arm.

"Hey lady, what're these?"

Yakko moved to get a look and blinked in surprise; each page was filled with carefully rendered drawings of both toons and people. That his brother hadn't eaten them was a testament to how impressed he was, and Yakko found himself sharing his opinion. Kay got to her feet and quickly took the drawings.

"Just some sketches," she said. "It's a hobby of mine."

Dot walked over with another paper, looking at it intently.

"They're really good," she said. "You should work here… most of the storyboard artists're awful!"

Kay smiled at the compliment, but Yakko was close enough to see a strange sadness in her eyes. It was the look of someone with a deep, painful secret.

"Well, thanks," she said, taking the paper. "But I've already got this job and that's plenty."

With that, she carefully placed her drawings back in the bag and blew a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"I was actually coming to talk to you…"

"Duuh, HEY!"

The Warners instantly leaped into Kay's bag as the dim-witted guard lumbered over, but that didn't stop him from swinging his net. She barely dodged, then glared at Ralph.

"Do I look like a toon to you, big fella?"

Wakko snorted inside the bag.

"Big fella…"

Dot giggled as Yakko elbowed him.

"Duh, sorry miss, but I t' ought I seen… it's my job t'…"

"What, net little kids?" Kay sniffed sarcastically. "Thank heaven for such competent enforcers. Now if you'll excuse me…"

With that she strolled past the guard, who stood by the gate scratching his head. Once he was out of sight, she looked in her bag.

"You can come out now," she said, sounding amused and slightly annoyed. The siblings hopped out, grinning happily.

"Thanks for the hiding place!" Yakko said. Kay rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"Well, you didn't give me much choice, but you're welcome."

Her face grew more serious.

"Look, I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute, but if you don't want to, that's okay."

Yakko felt his eyes widen.

"You got something?"

"Well…" Kay said slowly. "Nothing's solid yet, but we have found a few suspects. I can't say any more than that."

She glanced beside him and bit her lip.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else."

Suddenly remembering his siblings, Yakko looked at their wide eyes and nodded. He made himself sound cheerful when he spoke.

"We can go to our place!"

Wakko and Dot immediately perked up.

"Yeah!" both said eagerly.

"Uh…" Kay said slowly. "Well, I… "

She was cut off when the two grabbed her hands and started pulling her toward the tower.

"Whoa! Okay, okay, I'm coming!" she exclaimed. When they reached the ladder, the Warners scurried up right away and waited until Kay reached the top.

"Whew…" she sighed, glancing at the ground. "I'm glad my place just has one floor."

She glanced at the door to the tower doubtfully.

"Uh, will I even fit in there?"

The three siblings looked at each other and grinned.


	4. He's Here

Dot always liked people's reaction to their home; of course, new people didn't come up there very often and those who did were usually scared off within five minutes. However, Dot had no interest in bothering Kay… not too much, anyway. She was actually starting to like her, despite herself. She watched in amusement as the young woman looked around with wide eyes.

"This is trippy," she finally said.

"What's 'trippy'?" Wakko asked. Kay blinked and looked at him, then seemed to think for a bit.

"It's just a word for weird," she finally said.

"So that means you're trippy!" Dot said. Wakko glared and stuck his tongue out at her. Kay smirked and pressed her fingers to her lips, as if trying to stifle a giggle.

"Laugh now, but you don't have to live with it," Yakko said, rolling his eyes. Kay smiled at him and started pulling her hair up. Dot was instantly compelled to speak up.

"Why're you doing that?" she asked, crossing her arms and frowning.

Kay stopped, looking confused.

"Doing what?"

The Warner girl rolled her eyes.

"With your hair," she said impatiently. "It looks really pretty down."

A slight blush came to the young woman's face; Dot got a sense she hadn't heard that often.

"Well… thanks, but I can't really do much with it when it gets humid."

Dot saw her brothers glance at each other knowingly, but ignored them.

"Let me fix it!" she exclaimed. "I can fix it!"

Kay looked startled, and her hand immediately moved to her hair in a protective gesture.

"Oh, w-well…" she stammered. "Th-that's really nice, but…"

Dot grabbed her hand and tugged it eagerly.

"Please?" she said. "You don't know what it's like living with two boys!"

"Or one crazy girl," Yakko muttered, earning a skin peeling glare. Once he shut up, Dot looked back at Kay and put on her cute face.

"Pleeeease?"

She could see the desired effect taking hold, and finally Kay sighed heavily.

"Okay… just, nothing crazy."

Smiling proudly at her victory, Dot proceeded to pull her down the hall and to her room, ignoring the poorly stifled laughing behind them.

"Okay, sit here," she said, pushing her down on the side of the bed before climbing on herself to assess the damage.

"Hmm…" she muttered as she examined a strand. "You've got a little problem with split ends. What kind of shampoo do you use?"

"Bumble and Bumble," Kay replied, sounding rather put out. Dot continued examine her hair.

"Oh, well, that's best for tangles. You should balance that with a good moisturizing conditioner."

Completing her inspection, she hopped off the bed and hurried over to her small bureau. She pulled out a hairbrush, several small bottles, and a little pair of pink scissors before returning to the bed.

"Okay!" she said, spilling her load onto the blush colored bedspread. She picked up the scissors and gave them a few test snips.

"First things first."

Kay gulped audibly.

…

"Five bucks says she comes out looking like Lady Gaga," Yakko said, only half paying attention to the TV as he kept the other corner of his eye on the hallway. Wakko struggled to hold in his laughter.

"You're on!"

Yakko grinned, but to himself he was hoping Dot wouldn't go too wild on it. Strangely, it wasn't so much because he didn't want Kay's looks screwed up (though she was pretty cute) than not wanting to scare her away. She was really nice and she _**was**_ trying to help them.

Glancing over at his brother, Yakko realized that he'd been watching him closer than usual lately. It might just be him overreacting, but ever since yesterday he couldn't help feeling as though a door he'd never noticed before had opened for a minute, and then closed. Unfortunately, Wakko noticed before he could look away and glared suspiciously.

"What?"

"Uh… well…" Yakko stammered, trying to think of an excuse. Thankfully, a door opening in the hall interrupted him. Both guys looked up as footsteps came down the hall and Kay returned with Dot following, looking very pleased with herself. At the same time, their jaws dropped. The young woman's formerly unruly hair now hung smooth and shining halfway down her back in gentle curls.

"See?" Dot said proudly. "See? I told you!"

Kay chuckled and brushed back a lock of hair.

"Okay, okay. Yes, thank you very much."

Still gawking, Yakko held up a five-dollar bill and Wakko grabbed it without averting his own eyes. Kay frowned and glanced at Dot, who shrugged.

"Anyway… I guess I should get to the point."

Dot immediately hurried over to the couch and hopped on between her brothers. Kay smiled, but her look was a little sad.

"Like I said before, we've made some progress on the case and have some persons of interest…"

"That's 'people'," Wakko said. Kay looked at him as if she was about to protest, then clearly thought better of it.

"People of interest," she repeated. "I'm afraid I really can't say more than that. But there's something else I came about."

She looked at them and sighed.

"I know yesterday was a bad shock," she said slowly. "And I know how something like this feels."

Yakko immediately pricked his ears. What did she mean?

"Really?" Dot asked softly. Kay nodded, looking down at her hands. Whatever she was referring to, she apparently wasn't going to talk about it.

"I'm sorry for not giving you more warning, and…"

She sighed and looked up.

"I know it's been a long time, but do you remember anything about someone your mom and dad might have been worried about? A name or something?"

Yakko saw his siblings immediately look at him and knew they were waiting for an answer too. It was certainly understandable; they were way too young to remember something like that. Suddenly uncomfortable, he shook his head and looked down.

"Sorry."

To his embarrassment, his voice broke slightly. Two small hands rested on each of his shoulders and he looked up. Wakko and Dot were looking at him worriedly. Kay too looked concerned, shifting on her feet as if she wasn't sure whether to stay where she was or come over. His siblings looked at her, then all three scooted over. Kay walked over and sat down gingerly.

"You don't have to be sorry," she said gently. "Nothing's expected of you."

Suddenly she winced slightly and rubbed her forehead. For the first time, Yakko noticed the faint lines on her forehead and dark circles under her eyes; having caused these symptoms himself, he knew signs of exhaustion when he saw them. And apparently so did his siblings.

"Are you tired?" Dot asked, looking slightly concerned. Kay looked at them, then quickly took a deep breath and straightened.

"Just a little… I worked late last night."

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and reached into her bag.

"I almost forgot… I found this in evidence last night. It was supposed to be returned, but I guess it got misplaced."

She took a photo from the bag and held it out; other than a few small char marks on the edges, it was in perfect condition and the image was clear. Yakko took it and felt his heart beat faster. In it, baby Dot was sound asleep in their mother's arms with a flower pacifier; Wakko, a giggling toddler with his hat hanging over his eyes, was tugging on his brother's ear from his perch on his shoulders, and their dad had one arm around their mom as both smiled down at them.

All three gazed down at the photo. Yakko felt his throat tighten as he dimly remembered the day it was taken.

"I thought you'd want it," Kay said softly.

After a moment, Dot suddenly clambered over her brothers and flung her arms around the woman as they watched in surprise. This wasn't their normal hug and kiss routine, which was an annoyance factor. This was wordlessly genuine. Kay was pretty surprised herself; what she had been told about these kids certainly hadn't led her to expect this.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Yakko handed the picture to his brother, who was still engrossed in it, then smiled at Kay.

"Thanks," he said softly. "This means a lot to us."

Kay smiled and nodded, looking relieved. Suddenly an electronic version of the Mickey Mouse March rang out from her bag. Her face immediately went red and she dug frantically through it until she pulled out her phone and quickly answered it. Her face got even redder as the Warners squirmed with barely suppressed laughter.

"H-hello?" she said. After just a few seconds, her blush instantly disappeared and she quickly stood up.

"What?" she asked uneasily, then frowned. "Oswald, slow down… I can't understand you."

She paced away from the couch, then suddenly stiffened with a gasp.

"What? Oh, my… Well, is… is he okay?"

Several moments passed until Kay visibly relaxed and sighed heavily.

"Thank heaven… Yes, of course, I'll be right there."

She turned back to the couch, and her face was now worried and serious, and her eyes sparked with a fierceness that Yakko had never seen in anyone. However, her voice was gentle when she spoke.

"There was just an attempted attack over by the Disney lot. No one's hurt badly, but I've gotta get over there right away. Stay in here and don't come out until I call, okay?"

Yakko was struggling to follow her words, but he managed to nod. Kay quickly smiled as she picked up her bag.

"Don't be scared… it'll be okay."

She ran out the door, promising to call soon. After the door swung shut, Yakko looked at Wakko and Dot. He felt his eyes widen along with theirs as all three realized the same thing.

A toon hating psychopath, the man who killed their mother and father, was almost next door to the lot.


	5. Special Friend

Dot shifted her feet uneasily as she sat on the couch, glancing at the door and then the phone again. Two hours had worn on with no word from Kay, and she'd promised to call soon. She was starting to get scared; what if something had happened? What if she needed help?

"Dot, calm down. She's gonna call any minute, really."

Dot glared at her brother.

"That's what you said an hour ago," she grumbled. Yakko sighed and shrugged.

"Well, it's one of those stupid things adults always say, so I thought I'd give it a try."

Dot crossed her arms and huffed. Wakko just sat there, even quieter than usual. It was clear to her that he and Yakko were getting just as worried as she was, and she was determined not to just sit there any longer.

"Why don't you just call her?" she asked. Yakko shook his head.

"It could get her in trouble," he said. Dot jumped up in frustration.

"She's probably already in trouble!" she snapped. "We can't just sit here waiting!"

Yakko looked at her as if she'd grown an extra head.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, sister sibling, but I could swear it sounds like you're suggesting we stroll over to a lot where a crazy guy just was. Not to mention a pretty big rival."

Dot rolled her eyes; this wasn't off to a good start.

"We don't have to do that," she replied. "We could just go find Scratchy and see if he knows anything."

Yakko just shook his head again.

"Sorry, sis. I don't think he's gonna know."

He smiled slightly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know you're worried, but…"

Dot shook his hand off, too annoyed to worry about his feelings, and jumped up.

"But what? We're supposed to just sit around and wait for nothing? Like we did with Mom and Dad?" she yelled, her voice growing angrier by the minute. To her surprise, her brother jumped up as well, looking just as angry.

"Don't you even go there!" he snapped. "We couldn't do anything then and we can't now! So just…"

Wakko suddenly clamped his hands over his ears and groaned loudly, as if he were in pain.

"Stop it!" he screamed, his eyes glazed over. "Just _**stop**_ it!"

Yakko and Dot stared in shock as he jumped up and ran from the room, his door slamming. After a moment, Yakko sighed heavily and shook his head.

"Sorry, sis."

With that, he got up and hurried down the hall. Dot heard a quiet knock, then a door opening and closing. She glanced over at the phone; she had a feeling she'd be alone for a while, so maybe she could sneak a call to Scratchy. She frowned as a feeling of frustration began overriding her common sense. Why shouldn't she go ask herself?

_Five minutes… that's all it'd take. Does he think I'm that helpless?_

Finally, she stood and went to the door, slipping out and quietly closing it.

_It's just a walk across the lot… how dangerous could it be?_

…

Yakko stayed perched on the edge of the bed, watching the small lump under the covers; despite numerous attempts, he had yet to get any response. He was getting slightly irritated, but determined to keep his patience.

"Come on, Wakko… at least talk to me," he said. Finally, a faint mumble answered.

"Fine. Go away."

Letting out a sigh, Yakko crossed his arms. It looked like it was time to get tough.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, mister," he said sternly. "And I can tell ya right now that you're not gonna like the hard way."

A few moments went by before a long, heavy sigh came from under the covers.

"I still don't wanna talk about it," Wakko muttered.

Yakko smiled slightly; he still wasn't coming out, but at least he was talking.

"Okay, you don't have to if you don't want to. But at least come outta there… you're gonna suffocate like that."

After a minute, Wakko poked his head out. Yakko shifted and patted the spot beside him. Reluctantly, his brother climbed over and sat down. Yakko placed a hand on his shoulder and continued.

"It's just that with this and… what happened yesterday…"

He felt Wakko stiffen and decided to lay it on the line.

"I'm just worried, Wak. If something's bugging you, I don't want you to think you can't talk about it."

He smiled and nudged his brother.

"Cause y' know you can tell me anything."

Wakko glanced at him, then sighed again.

"Yeah, I know," he said quietly. "Just… don't fight anymore. Please?"

Yakko suddenly felt guilty; he should've known better than to lose his temper the way he had. It really wouldn't be a problem to talk to Scratchy like Dot had suggested. To be honest, he was really just afraid of what they might hear. He sighed sadly and put an arm around his brother.

"Sure thing, kiddo. No fighting."

He noticed a smile come to Wakko's face and smiled himself.

"Better?" he asked.

Yakko grinned at the nod and ruffled his brother's hair.

"Okay."

He hopped off the bed and went back to the hall, heading toward his sister's room; he felt a slight twinge of unease at finding no one there, but shrugged it off. She was probably still in the living room. But before he took a step, footsteps came pounding down the hall.

"Yakko!"

He hurried out into the hallway only to almost crash into Wakko. His brother grabbed his shoulders, eyes wide and frantic.

"She's gone!"

Yakko felt his legs go weak and quickly pressed his hand to the wall. Panicked thoughts pounded through his head with the ink in his ears as he started imagining all the horrible things that could be happening. What if Dot tried to find Kay herself and ran into…

"Y-Yakko?"

His younger brother's terrified voice forced his mind back under control. He had to stay calm, for both their sakes.

"It's okay, Wak," he said, struggling to keep his voice from shaking. "I bet she just went to see Scratchy… she's probably on the way back now."

He found himself calming down as he heard his words. His sister might be stubborn, but she wasn't stupid, and the psychiatry building was just across the lot. What could possibly happen?

"Look, why don't we go too? We'll probably meet her halfway and she'll be laughing at us all day."

Wakko smiled slightly at that, making Yakko smile too. But before either could even take a step, a scream suddenly permeated the tower walls. Yakko felt his stomach twist; he knew that voice. Almost blindly, he grabbed Wakko's arm and ran for the door. They burst out to find a crowd of people racing through the lot, some looking confused, others horrified. Yakko half jumped, half slid down the ladder with his brother close behind. He raced through the crowd, pushing his way through.

"Dot!" he yelled, looking around frantically. There was no sign of her. Yakko kept running, dimly aware of Wakko behind, also yelling her name. Tears began stinging in his eyes as he screamed for his baby sister.

"Dottie!"

His desperation was reaching a breaking point when he noticed several people clustered in one place. Through a small space, he caught a glimpse of dark liquid on the ground. For one terrible moment, Yakko felt his heart drop to his stomach. But as he feared the worst, he suddenly saw Kay standing apart from the crowd, gently cradling a small, shaking ball of fur in her arms.

Gasping, Yakko called to his brother and both ran toward them. Kay looked up and sighed visibly with relief, then looked down and murmured something. Dot turned her head and her glazed, red-rimmed eyes widened when she saw her brothers, but she was still crying too much to say anything.

"She's all right… just scared," Kay said as she handed her to Yakko. He hugged his sister close as she wrapped her arms around his neck, still sobbing. He glanced over at the puddle of ink, and now that his mind was rational he could see it was much too small to be a whole toon.

"What… what's that?" he asked hoarsely. Kay bit her lip.

"It's from the attack at the Disney lot." Her eyes suddenly burned fiercely. "The sick freak threw it over the wall."

Yakko felt a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach, but before he could say anything Dot squeezed his neck harder.

"I'm… s-s-sorry…" she wailed. "I w-was… s-s-s-stupid…"

"You're also… choking me…" Yakko managed to say. The hold on his neck loosened, but Dot kept crying, and Wakko looked like he was getting close.

"Shh… it's okay," he said, keeping his voice down to calm them both. "You weren't stupid, you just wanted to help."

Still sniffling but calmer now, Dot nestled into his chest. Kay stepped forward and urged all three back toward the tower.

"You better get back home before reporters get here," she said softly. "There aren't any other toons around, so they'll be coming right to you."

Yakko smiled to himself at the gentle concern in her voice; the kind of concern that he'd seen in the few adults that really cared about them. The thought came to him that maybe in this girl, they had found special friend after all.

**AN: This may not be one of my best chapters, but I hope you all like it! Sorry that updates take a while, I still don't have the whole story together so I just kind of wing it! Again, hope you've enjoyed the story so far! See you soon!**


	6. Drawing and Eavesdropping

Dot yawned softly and turned onto her back. After blinking away her sleepiness, she saw she was in her bed. She shuddered as the memory of yesterday came back; she must have fallen asleep before they got home, since she didn't remember getting into bed. With a heavy sigh, she slid out of bed and plodded to her mirror, wincing at the reflection. Her eyes were still red and her ears were all funny from sleeping without her curlers.

"Well…" she sighed, pulling up an eyelid. "It could be worse."

As she opened he door, voices came from down the hall.

"Isn't that too much baking soda?"

"I don't know, the amount's all smudged."

"Hmm… okay, try it."

She heard a poofing sound, followed by coughing. Dot rolled her eyes.

_It's worse._

She walked into the kitchen to find white powder on everything, including her brothers.

"Okay," Yakko coughed as he brushed himself off. "Definitely too much baking soda."

Dot crossed her arms and stood there until they noticed her. Both looked at each other sheepishly, then Wakko started shaking off his hat.

"We didn't wake you up, did we?" Yakko asked. Dot snorted.

"If you did, you'd have more problems than this."

He grinned, then glanced beside him.

"Wakko?"

Dot giggled as her brother immediately pulled out his gag bag. He reached in and pulled out a leaf blower.

"Say hello to my little friend!" he said with a goofy grin.

With that he revved it up and blew the baking soda away, almost along with everything else in the room. When he finished, Dot sighed as she fixed her hair.

"I vote toast," she said grumpily, making all three laugh. However, the events of the previous day were obviously just as engraved in their minds, as soon their conversation turned to why the attacker threw the jar into the lot.

"I bet he's one of those wacked out cult members," Yakko said. "He's probably working with some toon doomsday thing, or he's some evil secret agent."

Wakko looked up with a strangely serious look.

"Maybe he's an alien."

"An alien that looks like a human?" Yakko snorted.

Wakko glared at him.

"Sometimes they shape shift, you know," he replied.

Dot groaned, exasperated at how calmly they were discussing it.

"Oh, cut it out," she snapped as she fiddled with one of her crusts. "Who cares what he is anyway? He can be a blob in the gutter for all I care."

A sudden silence fell, and she looked up to see her brothers' worried faces. She rolled her eyes again, but inside she was gratified by their concern.

"Relax, I'm not emotionally scarred," she said. "Can we just talk about something else?"

The boys looked at each other, then shrugged.

"All right, then," Yakko said as he stood up, snatching Wakko's plate before he could eat it and earning an impressive glare.

"Let's figure out how to annoy Plotz… unless you guys'd rather stay in."

Dot could hear the slight hope in the last statement, but she looked at Wakko and they both shook their heads. Whatever had happened, it just wasn't in them to stay in one place all day. After a few minutes of debate, they decided to pop out of Plotz's drawer and see how long it took before they were thrown out. Maybe they would beat their record of fifteen minutes.

After cleaning up, the trio slid down the ladder and headed for the administration building. However, they quickly stopped when the door opened and Kay stepped out, looking intently at the sketchpad she was doodling on. The trio immediately forgot their planned exertion and ran up to her.

"Hi!" they all chorused. Kay looked up, then smiled widely at them.

"Hi yourself!" she said. "How are you?"

"We're okay," Yakko said. Dot stepped forward.

"How come you're here?" she asked curiously. Kay shifted her bag on her shoulder and smiled at her.

"The sergeant told me to take the day, so I thought I'd stop by for a minute and see how things were."

Curious, Dot craned her neck to try and see the sketchpad.

"What're you drawing?" she asked. Kay blinked and glanced at the paper, then turned it so they could see. Dot's eyes widened as she looked; it was full of sketches of various areas around the studio.

"What're these for?" she heard Yakko say.

"Sometimes I draw what I've seen while I'm investigating," Kay replied. "It sort of clears out my head somehow."

Dot gazed at the drawings for a while, then looked back up at her.

"How do you do it?"

Kay bit her lip, as she always seemed to do when she was thinking.

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain… it's easier to show, really…"

All three immediately sat down and waited. Kay looked at them quizzically for a moment, then chuckled slightly and sat down as well, turning to a clean page. Dot cocked her head and smiled slightly; this lady was starting to be fun.

"Okay," Kay said. "First, my dad always said that the trick is not to focus on the details to start. When you start out, focus on the shapes."

She put her pencil to the paper and swept it across, drawing rectangles and half circles.

"Like that. Now, this is like the foundation, so now you just build on that and start adding the details. Watch…"

Dot watched in wonder as the pencil moved deftly over the paper, slowly forming the administration building in front of them.

"You also need to make sure to draw light at first, so you can erase what you don't need later. Then after that, you just darken the ones left, shade it if you want…"

Kay lifted her pad and blew on it, then lowered it again.

"Done."

All three Warners stared at the drawing in wonder.

"Seriously," Yakko said. "How do you do that?"

Kay blushed slightly and started turning the pages.

"Well, I…" She swallowed. "I learned a lot from my dad."

"He's an artist?" Dot asked. Kay's eyes grew distant as she continued turning the pages of her sketchbook.

"Actually, he was a creator," she said softly. "He died when I was ten. I actually took some classes when I started college."

Dot gazed at the young woman in shock.

"Really?" she asked softly.

Kay smiled slightly and nodded. Then suddenly, Wakko spoke up.

"How come you didn't be one too?"

The smile instantly dropped and Kay looked away. After a few moments, she spoke in a strangely quiet voice.

"It didn't work out."

She took a deep breath and closed her sketchbook, placing it back in her bag. Before anyone could say anything, her phone chimed again. This time, it was Katy Parry singing ET. Kay quickly answered it and smiled again as she stood.

"Hi, Mickey!" she said happily. "I'm glad you called… how's your head?"

After a few minutes, she bit her lip again.

"Oh… so you don't remember anything? No, no, it's okay. Really, don't worry about it. Okay, talk to you later. Bye."

Dot watched in interest as Kay put away her phone; she had been talking to one of the most respected toons like an old friend.

"He's the one who was attacked?"

Kay looked up and nodded.

"He's fine, though. The perp seems to be stepping it up… I've never seen him try something like this, much less in broad daylight."

On hearing these words, Dot whimpered softly. She looked up at a hand on her shoulder to see Yakko smiling reassuringly.

"I'm sorry," Kay said quickly, then sighed softly. "I shouldn't have said that."

Dot suddenly felt sorry for her; she'd seen people deliver bad news before and knew how hard it was.

"It's okay," she said, her brothers nodding in agreement. Kay looked at them in slight surprise.

"We should know anyway," Yakko added. After a few minutes, Kay grinned.

"So you know you should stick to bugging only people you know?"

All three burst out laughing, making her giggle. Suddenly a male voice called from nearby, and Kay's face almost instantly lit up even more as she turned.

"Daniel!"

Dot looked and her eyes widened when she saw a man a little older than Kay coming toward them. He was no Mel Gibson, but he was still pretty cute, especially when he was smiling like he was now.

"Danny, what are you doing here?" Kay asked delightedly as she rested her hands on his chest. The man grinned and brushed back a lock of her hair.

"Well, a little birdie told me you were free today, so I figured I'd meet you while you wrapped up here."

Kay giggled, but Dot could hear some guilt in her voice.

"I'm that predictable, huh?"

Danny looked at her for a moment, then smiled gently and hugged her.

"Hey, if you weren't, then you're not the girl I'm crazy about."

Dot stared in wonder as the two kissed, barely aware of her brothers chuckling. The couple glanced at them and quickly drew apart, coughing awkwardly.

"Um…" Kay said, blushing. "This is Danny. Danny, these are the Warners."

Danny smiled and started to greet them, but before he say anything, Dot eagerly broke in.

"You're her boyfriend, right?" she demanded. "He's your boyfriend?"

Kay blushed even deeper, smiling widely. Danny grinned and put an arm around her.

"Yep," he said. "And proud of it."

Kay giggled, then looked at the trio with slight concern.

"You are okay, right?" she asked. Dot was about to demand more answers when Yakko quickly covered her mouth.

"Yep, we're good," he said, ignoring her muffled whining. Kay blinked quizzically, then smiled and shook her head.

"Okay, I'll see you later."

She lay her head on Danny's shoulder as they walked toward the gate, talking softly.

Dot saw her brothers glance at each other, then at her. All three grinned and nodded at the same time. Friend or not, an interesting conversation was an interesting conversation. They quickly and quietly followed to the gate, where they heard the couple talking.

"Danny…" Kay was saying softly. "You know I don't want you to ask until I can say yes. I can't quit until I solve this."

"I know that, Kay…" he replied gently. "But it's been over a year now."

There was a long silence, and Kay's voice shook slightly as she answered.

"Well… if you… want me to quit now… I understand if…"

"Kayla. That's not what I meant."

Dot peeked around the corner with her brothers to see Danny gently touching Kay's cheek.

"I know what solving this means to you, baby. I know you want to do right by those kids. And I'll wait as long as that takes. I just… I just hope you understand that…"

He sighed and gently hugged her.

"Solving this won't bring Tia back."

Kay stiffened and stood there for a moment, then slowly hugged him back.

"No…" she whispered. "But it's still the right thing."

Dot looked and Yakko and Wakko, then all three turned from the gate. Without a word, they headed for the tower. It was still early, but what they just heard had given them a lot to think about.

**A/N: I wanted to update before my family trip to Chicago! I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I'll do my best! Please enjoy this new one and again, I apologize if it's not that good. Adios Amigos!**


	7. Park Talk

Yakko leaned against the railing of the tower with his siblings on either side. It was another beautiful day, and he was well aware that both were just as bored with the lot as he was. As he thought, he noticed them looking at the park near the tower, where they usually went when the lot wasn't fun enough. Both looked at him with wide puppy eyes.

Yakko felt his throat tighten; even though hanging around the lot was getting old, at least his brother and sister had been safe. He didn't want to make them stay here and he was pretty bored too, but if they left and something happened to them…

Maybe he could call someone to come along, but the options were less than favorable. He knew Kay would probably come with them, but last time she called, she sounded really busy. A hand tugging his arm interrupted his thoughts and he looked down, instantly regretting it when he saw Dot's best 'cute' face.

"Pweeeaaase? Just for a teeny weeny little bit?" she said, batting her eyes sweetly. Yakko groaned and ran a hand down his face, cursing himself mentally for being such a big pushover.

"Okay, okay…" he sighed, then grinned slightly. "Can those eyes get any bigger?"

His sister smirked and poked his chest.

"You better hope you never have to find out."

Yakko sighed again.

"Just a little bit," he repeated. Both siblings cheered and leaped up to hug him. Yakko couldn't help returning their enthusiasm, but as they headed to the park the unease still tugged at him. The fact that there were a lot of people there was little comfort, considering that the toon hater had just attacked an iconic character in his own lot a few days ago.

"Yakko? Yakko!"

Dot's voice suddenly cut in, and Yakko shook his head, wondering how long she'd been talking to him.

"Huh? What?"

His sister frowned up at him, tapping her foot.

"Why aren't you listening?"

"Uh… well…" Yakko started, but Dot continued before he could continue.

"You've been so weird today!"

Wakko didn't say anything, but looked annoyed himself. Yakko gulped and rubbed his neck; he knew they wouldn't take kindly to him going into overprotective mode.

"Well, I, uh… I'm just…"

Dot rolled her eyes.

"Jeez, will you relax?"

At those words, Yakko felt his shoulders tense and suddenly felt overwhelmed.

"Yeah well, you try being responsible for the only family you have left and see if you can relax," he snapped.

The harsh sound of his voice startled even him, and his siblings were looking at him with wide eyes. He bit his lip and was about to apologize when Dot slowly stepped forward, looking worried.

"Are… are you okay?" she asked. Yakko slowly looked at his feet.

"Yeah, I'm sorry…" he said, then sighed heavily. "It's just that I…"

He leaned against a nearby tree, rubbing his head.

"It's just that with everything going on now, sometimes I get worked up."

Wakko suddenly appeared hanging upside down from a branch, holding his hat.

"Why?" he asked.

Yakko blinked in surprise, then sighed again.

"Well, it's just… it's kind of hard sometimes without Mom and Dad, and I… I'm just not sure if I'm doing okay."

A hand tapped his leg and he looked at his sister, who looked at him with a strangely serious look.

"We are."

Yakko smiled at her, but the moment was interrupted when Wakko fell from the branch and landed hard beside them. After a few minutes, he coughed sheepishly and adjusted his hat. All three started laughing.

"Okay, then," Yakko said, pulling his brother to his feet. "I think we've worked the sentimentality out. Shall we?"

After annoying some park rangers, catcalling girls (or guys), and stealing a Frisbee, they took turns seeing how high they could spray the water fountain. Unfortunately, that game quickly turned into how fast they could find a place to hide when one shot hit a rather bad tempered executive.

Finally, they leaped into a nearby bag and waited. After a while, Yakko poked his head out to check.

"Whew… okay, he's gone."

Wakko sighed in relief as they all climbed out.

"That was not faboo."

"Tell me about it," Yakko said. "Do you believe that guy?"

"Yeah, he didn't even wait for us to try bugging him," Dot scoffed.

"I know I sure don't get it."

All three stopped where they were at the voice, then slowly turned. Kay stood beside the bag, her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

"I'm listening," she said. The siblings glanced at each other, then Dot linked her hands behind her back and rocked on her feet.

"We were bored," she said sweetly. Kay rolled her eyes, smiling slightly.

"Apparently." Her face quickly grew serious.

"But what're you doing here? Isn't anyone with you?"

Yakko suddenly felt almost sheepish; he wasn't sure why.

"Well, ah… there is now."

All three gave her big innocent smiles, halos appearing above them. Kay cocked her head curiously.

"You're never serious, are you?"

Wakko cocked his head.

"Why?" he asked. "It's boring."

Kay giggled softly.

"I guess you've got a point. But I wish you'd called me first."

All three sheepishly looked at the ground.

"Sorry."

"Oh no, it's okay," Kay said, smiling. "I'd be bored too if I had to sit at home all day."

"So you're bored, too?" Dot asked. Kay chuckled.

"Well, no, I'm just on a break from work, and I like it here."

She smiled and leaned against the tree.

"It sort of reminds me of my old school campus."

Yakko noticed the distant look on her face, and he couldn't help asking something.

"Do you miss it?"

Kay blinked, then sighed and shrugged.

"Well, yeah… but I don't really like to talk about it."

Normally, Yakko would have persisted, but he remembered her sadness from last time they talked about this. He glanced at his siblings and they clearly got it.

"Y' got any new pictures? Can I see?" Dot asked, peeking into the shoulder bag. "You don't mind, right?" Kay smiled again and pulled out her sketchbook, handing it over.

"Would it matter?"

Yakko grinned at her.

"That's the spirit!"

He was expecting her to roll her eyes, but instead Kay just laughed. He couldn't help smiling; she might be complicated, but it was certainly fun having her around. And even though he'd never admit it out loud, it brought a strange comfort that he hadn't felt in a long time: knowing that someone was looking after you.


	8. Almost Calm Before the Storm

Danny couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief as he turned the key and opened the door. His clients today had been especially irritable, and it had taken half the day to get them to stop yelling long enough to work out terms. He couldn't complain too much though… at least days like this made him look forward to coming home even more. After closing the door, he grinned at the sound of computer keys clicking.

_Someone's home early._

Being very quiet, he moved into the office room of the apartment. Sure enough, there was Kay, frowning at her laptop in intense concentration as she typed. Even now, his heart beat a little faster on seeing her. He walked up slowly and placed his hands over her eyes.

"Guess who?"

Kay let out a little squeak of surprise before giggling. She grabbed his hands and pulled them down.

"You're lucky I'm used to this or I'd have socked you," she said, turning around on her chair. Danny grinned and pulled her up.

"Well, I learned from the first time."

Kay blushed slightly and gave him a sheepish smile. After giving her a kiss, he looked at her laptop.

"So, how's the case going?"

Kay sighed and squeezed his hand.

"Slow… like always."

She sank back down in the chair, rubbing her head.

"It just doesn't make sense…" she muttered. "He escalates, then there's no activity at all? I've never seen anything like that."

Danny sat on the desk and shook his head.

"I still can't believe the psycho went after such a high profile toon. I've lived here my whole life and no toon hater's ever attacked an original drawn toon. Not that I know of, anyway."

Kay nodded, running over his words in her head. She suddenly bit her lip and looked up, feeling terror well in her as she formed a sickening theory.

"I told you what he did with the ink, right?"

Danny looked a little startled, but nodded.

"Yeah… he threw in the…"

He stopped and his own eyes widened. Kay nodded, knowing he was coming to the same conclusion.

"That attack wasn't for a kill… it was a message."

Tears welled in her eyes as an all too familiar pain rose deep inside.

"He's after the kids," she said shakily. "That was just to show we can't stop him."

Her throat constricted as she struggled to stifle her sobs. Danny put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head as she nestled into his chest.

"They'll stop him, hon," he said encouragingly. "They will. Nothing's going to happen to them, okay?"

Kay pressed closer to him.

"I can't let it happen," she whispered. "Not again."

Danny immediately drew back and lifted her chin until she was looking into his dark brown eyes, which were full of concern and sympathy.

"Kay," he said, gently but firmly. "You can't keep blaming yourself for that. It wasn't your fault."

Kay closed her eyes and slumped into his chest, letting her tears flow as the heartache cut fresh all over again. She listened to the soothing voice of the man she loved telling her again that it wasn't her fault, but she didn't say her reply out loud.

_No… it was my fault._

…

In the midst of enjoying the musical genius of Weird Al, Yakko heard loud noises through his earbuds. Pulling them out, he heard yelling and loud pounding from the living room. He rolled his eyes as he hopped off his bed, guessing the source.

Sure enough, when he entered the living room, his siblings were in full battle mode, Dot tearing around the room followed by a furious and hatless brother. Grinning in amusement, Yakko leaned against the doorway to watch.

"Dot, give it back!" Wakko yelled, skidding past without noticing him. She jumped on the couch and bounced over the back, holding the hat.

"First say Mel Gibson doesn't look old!"

"Why shouldn't he look old? He's like, sixty!"

Dot's eyes went red as she kept running.

"Take it back!"

"No! Gimme my hat!"

"I can do this all day!"

Yakko tried hard not to laugh as the two ran around the room over and over, yelling.

_I'll break it up when it stops being hilarious._

Suddenly Wakko stopped and whirled around, going the other way. Dot squealed and performed an impressive leap over the table by the couch to avoid him. Yakko finally decided it was time to intervene and started clapping. Both siblings immediately stopped.

"Guess you can get good entertainment at home," Yakko said. He walked over to Dot and held out a hand. She pouted and handed him the hat. Yakko then held it out to his brother, who grabbed it and stormed to the door.

"You're welcome," Yakko called before it slammed, then turned to Dot, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" she huffed. "He said Mel Gibson's too old for me."

"A capital offense," Yakko said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "But as much as I fear for my health, I have to agree."

Dot glared fiercely and Yakko quickly backed up a few steps.

"Just saying, fifty years is a pretty big gap, sis."

"Forty nine and a half," Dot snapped before stomping into the kitchen. Yakko sighed in relief and followed.

"Well, either way, was going for the hat really necessary?"

Dot huffed as she opened the refrigerator.

"I didn't think he'd be such a baby about it," she said. "He just freaked out."

Yakko frowned as he thought.

_He was kind of crazy… more so than usual, anyway._

Suddenly his eyes widened.

"Wait… today's the 11th, right? April 11th?"

Dot looked at him and frowned in confusion.

"Yeah."

Yakko sighed and rubbed his head.

"Oh boy…"

What?" his sister asked. "What's wrong with today?"

"Well…" Yakko said slowly. "He first got it today."

Dot looked even more confused.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

Yakko cocked his head.

"We never told you?"

When she shook her head, he sighed and leaned against the cupboard.

"It was Dad's," he said, his throat tightening. "He gave it to him the day before."

Dot looked at him in confusion for a few seconds, then her eyes widened. Both stood quietly as they remembered; the day after today was the anniversary of their parents' death.

"I… I didn't mean to…" Dot started, but Yakko smiled slightly and held up a hand.

"No, it's okay… you didn't know."

She bit her lip uneasily and glanced at the tower door.

"Should I… apologize or something?"

Yakko smiled at her but shook his head.

"Ah… I think I better talk to him first."

In truth, he doubted that was really necessary, but he was still determined to get his brother talking and this was a definite opportunity.

…

As he sat on the tower roof, Wakko glared at the tip of his tail, which was once again in the shape of a crude hand. He'd been working on it for weeks, but it wasn't getting any better. He couldn't figure out why it suddenly bothered him so much. He pushed harder, but the only result was a dizzying headache. With a frustrated groan, he placed his head in his heads until the throbbing stopped.

Suddenly the sound of the door opening snapped Wakko out of his swirling thoughts.

"What?" he snapped, assuming it was Dot.

"Relax, it's me," Yakko said as he climbed up to the roof. "Jeez, what's chewing on your keister?"

He cocked his head, then grinned slightly.

"Working on the tail again?"

Wakko blinked.

"Huh?"

"Well…" Yakko said, motioning. "It wasn't too hard to tell."

Wakko looked and found that his tail was horribly twisted and frazzled.

"Oops," he muttered. His brother chuckled as he came over and sat beside him.

"I got it."

As he worked on the mess, Wakko couldn't help wincing a little.

"I told you this'd happen if you pushed too much," Yakko said.

_Here we go._

"Whatever," Wakko mumbled, staring at his hands. He was still stinging from the hat incident and not enjoying the prospect of being lectured.

"Ah, c'mon… it's better than me when I was your age. Okay, this might hurt … There ya go."

Wakko looked at his untangled tail and swished it a few times. He managed a half-hearted grin.

"Thanks."

Yakko got up and stretched.

"No problem. So, you wanna sit up here and sulk or go find something to do?"

Wakko frowned for a minute, then sighed and stood. If nothing else, it might improve his mood. He followed his brother to the ladder, then stopped in confusion as he headed down.

"Hey, what about Dot?"

"Didn't wanna come," Yakko called. "Besides, I'm ready to talk about something that doesn't involve Mel Gibson or cuteness."

At these words, Wakko felt resentment starting to simmer and he tried not to glare as he followed.

_If this is another try to get me to "open up", that something's gonna be a piece of my mind!_

As the two headed across the lot, neither noticed the dark figure flitting between some buildings. For just a moment, the evening light shone faintly over teeth in a jaw clenched with hate, then the shadows swallowed it.

**A/N: Oh dear… this doesn't look good, does it? Prepare yourselves, folks, because if you'll excuse my French, next chapter you're gonna see some serious shit. Please read and review, and just in case you don't like it I apologize.**


	9. Broken

**This chapter will be shorter than normal, as I wanted to end on another cliffhanger (yep, I'm evil). Please don't hate me for this, but the opportunity for emotional intensity was too much to resist. Brace yourselves and read on!**

As the fading light of early evening stretched across the lot, Wakko was beginning to feel cautiously better about the situation. It had been almost 20 minutes and Yakko hadn't tried to grill him about anything, openly or indirectly.

So far their conversations had revolved around which of the girls they'd seen was most attractive, though the late time meant fewer choices, or the drawings Kay had shown them. His mood was improving quickly and he was starting to feel a little guilty for what he'd thought earlier.

_Maybe this isn't just an excuse to have a 'serious' talk. That's definitely the last thing I need right now._

However, these thoughts were quickly interrupted by Yakko clearing his throat and looking down at the ground.

"By the way, sorry about the whole hat thing," he said, sounding uneasy. "I, uh… I know it didn't happen on the best day."

The slight optimism instantly vanished, frustration and disappointment flooding in its place. Almost unconsciously Wakko clenched his fists and whirled around, glaring.

"You just had to do it, didn't you?" Yakko stopped, looking startled.

"What?" he asked. "What'd I say?"

"You think I'm stupid enough not to figure it out? Wakko snapped. "The minute you get me alone it turns into an excuse to pick my brain, and I'm sick of it! If I wanted a p-sychiatrist I'd talk to Scratchy!"

His brother stiffened, his own temper flaring at the harsh words.

"Well, if me being worried is such a problem for you…"

Wakko felt the fur on his neck rise and almost snarled with anger. If Yakko thought he was going to pin this on him, he had another thing coming.

"So I'M the one with the problem? Because I don't run crying to you whenever something's wrong, I have something wrong with me? Are you that dense or are you just so desperate to be like Mom and Dad you have to pick apart every single problem? Well, guess what? You're NOT them, and you never WILL be!"

The venom in his words startled even him, but he couldn't stop them. They felt like some hot, ugly poison he had to get out. Yakko clenched his fists, his eyes burning with fury. And for the first time Wakko could remember, he yelled.

"Don't you think I know that? Most of the time I have no idea what I'm supposed to do! And having a brother who's such a pain in the neck doesn't improve things much!"

The words hit Wakko like a punch in the stomach, but he refused to show his hurt and dissolved it in his rage.

"Oh, so I'm the one ruining YOUR life!" he yelled back. "If that's how it is, maybe you'd rather not have one! And don't worry, the feeling's mutual!"

With that, he whirled around and stormed away, barely hearing Yakko's angry reply.

"FINE! Go sulk and see if I care!"

Wakko stomped into a nearby alley and paced it wildly, resisting the urge to rip apart everything in reach. After a few moments, the worst of his anger began to fade, but this left him in a tight spot. He couldn't stand here all night but he certainly wasn't about to go crawling back home.

Letting out a sigh, he wandered out of the alley and walked along the wall, kicking at random pebbles. He couldn't go back, he couldn't stay… what could he do now? He clenched his teeth at the thought of even being in the same space as Yakko and kicked another rock even harder, seething with resentment.

_Typical… just when I thought he was finally taking a hint he wrecks it! He always thinks he's right just 'cause he's older! He's just such a…_

A faint clicking sound snapped Wakko out of his thoughts. He looked up to see a dark figure mostly hidden in the shadows a distance away. Seeing that the figure was pointing something, Wakko squinted to make it out.

His eyes widened in fear and he pressed close to the wall. The object was a toon gun, one of very few things that could hurt, or even kill a toon.

Trembling, he traced the line of fire, but the moment he saw the intended target his fear for himself vanished. Without a second thought, Wakko leaped from his hiding place and started running as fast as he could, nothing in his mind but the hope he would get there in time.

"Yakko!" he shouted. "Look o-"

That same instant, a loud crack split the air and something slammed into him from behind, knocking the air from his lungs and cutting off his yell. The shock lasted only a few seconds before…

Pain. Hot, mind-numbing pain.

Wakko staggered forward a few steps as his ears started buzzing and his vision blurred, a strange wetness spreading between his shoulders. Suddenly he felt horribly weak, and someone caught him as his legs gave out. Through the red haze swimming in front of his eyes, he saw his older brother's shocked, terrified face. His garbled voice seemed to come from a distance, but the frantic tone was clear.

Wakko tried to speak, but nothing came out. His chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath, intense pain shooting through him with every move. His bleary mind slowly formed an awareness of being hurt, and hurt bad.

_Can't move… it hurts… Am I… dying…?_

Everything went black.

**A/N: As I warned before, things are about to get very intense. If you really want to know what'll happen, let me know and I'll PM you. See you soon!**


	10. Almost Losing You

The horrible sound of the gunshot was still ringing in his ears as Yakko knelt on the ground, cradling his limp, unconscious brother in his arms as warm ink soaked his gloved hand.

_No, no, no… this isn't happening… it can't be…_

"Someone help!" he screamed, cursing himself for going so far across the lot. "Please, help me!"

Luckily he caught the attention of a few interns who were working late. One ran back inside to call for help while the other stood nearby, clearly shocked.

"What… what happened?"

Yakko clenched his teeth and glared at him.

"What's it look like!" he yelled. The intern gulped and didn't say any more.

A barely audible moan suddenly reached Yakko's ears, and he quickly looked back down.

"Wakko?" he asked urgently.

There was no response. Struggling to control the panic welling inside, Yakko placed a hand on the side of his head and ruffled the fur.

"Wak, can you hear me? C'mon, open your eyes… wake up, please…"

Wakko moaned again and his eyes fluttered open; only a little, but it was better than nothing. They slowly focused, then brightened slightly in recognition.

"Y-… Yakko…" he murmured hoarsely; it seemed to be taking all his strength just to talk. Yakko tried to smile and nodded.

"I'm here," he said softly. "I'm right here, it's gonna be okay."

He silently hoped that the last statement wouldn't turn out to be a lie. It didn't take a doctor to tell him that his younger sibling was severely injured, maybe even…

Yakko quickly shook his head to banish the thought.

_Stop it! It doesn't matter how bad it is! He's __**not**__ gonna die!_

"It… hurts…" Wakko rasped as his eyelids drooped. Yakko carefully shook his shoulder, terrified that if they closed they would never open again. A twinge of hope rose as he heard the faint sound of sirens.

"Come on, you gotta stay awake. Help's coming, okay?"

Not seeming to hear him, Wakko shuddered and coughed, then looked up with hazy, brimming eyes.

"Yakko…" he whispered. "I… I…"

Fighting back the tears he was afraid to let fall, the eldest Warner gently stroked his brother's hair.

"Shh…"

Wakko winced, then took a ragged breath and leaned closer.

"I…I'm… s-sorry…"

He trailed off with a shaky sigh and closed his eyes; as his labored breathing slowed, Yakko started to panic. The sirens were louder, but still a distance away.

"No! Wake up!" he yelled. "Don't close your eyes, stay with me!"

Suddenly, he heard the loud volume of his voice and froze in horror as it triggered the memory of the fight and all the awful things they'd said… what he'd said… in anger. And now there was a very real chance he could never take it back.

Yakko let out a strangled wail and tightened his arms around his baby brother, pulling him closer.

"Please… I didn't mean it," he sobbed, rocking slowly. "Please, God, don't leave me."

…

Dot paced the floor of the tower, trying to keep her hands from trembling. The sirens outside were still going and she had no idea what was happening. She kept looking at the door, waiting for her brothers to come back in and getting more frightened by the minute.

Finally, she decided she was going to see for herself and hurried to the door. But once she opened it, her heart dropped to her feet. Police cars were parked in the lot and officers were everywhere. She started to look for Yakko and Wakko, but a car pulling up near the tower and a man quickly getting out interrupted her. Recognizing Danny, she immediately slid down the ladder and her eyes widened when she saw his grim look.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "What's going on?"

He clenched his jaw looked at the ground.

"S-something happened," he said shakily. "I'll explain on the way, but we've gotta get to the hospital!"

A sickening feeling started in Dot's stomach as she instantly jumped in the car.

"What're you doing?" she snapped. "_**Go**_!"

Caught off guard, Danny shook his head and got in too, punching the gas. As he drove, Dot clutched her seat anxiously. One or both of her brothers was in trouble. Were they hurt, or even worse?

"What happened?" she demanded.

Danny glanced at her, then took a deep breath.

"The hater got into the lot again. I don't know how, but somehow he got a toon gun and… he went after your brothers. Yakko's okay, but…"

Dot felt sick as the implication of his words sank in. After gulping hard, she managed to speak again.

"H-… how bad?"

Danny glanced at her uneasily, and she could tell he was considering not telling the truth. Finally, he sighed heavily.

"It's not good."

If he said anything after that, Dot didn't hear it. She stared straight ahead, not seeing anything. Shock seemed to numb her senses so that she barely noticed the tears filling her eyes. After what could have been hours or just a few minutes, the car stopped and they were at the hospital. Dot jumped out of the car and ran inside as Danny tried to keep up.

The minute Dot entered the waiting room, what little hope she had left disappeared. Kay was sitting beside Yakko with a hand on his back, and Dot could see tears in her eyes. As for her brother, he sat without moving, his shoulders slumped and his head in his hands. He had only looked this helpless once before. Yakko's ears twitched and he looked up. His dull eyes widened and he quickly stood. Dot felt her throat tighten and ran over. She was instantly pulled into a hug.

"What's happening?" she whimpered.

Her brother hugged her tighter, and his voice shook slightly as he spoke.

"I…I don't know. They're not telling me anything."

Dot bit her lip and nestled closer; the fear in his voice scared her even more. She heard Kay sigh heavily as she stood.

"I'm so sorry for this," she said softly. Danny hurried over and put his arms around her as she pressed into his chest.

Dot felt her throat tighten, but she quickly forgot when she heard a door open. Yakko looked up and quickly let go. Dot turned and saw a middle-aged woman with short graying hair and wearing a nurse's uniform enter the waiting room, her face uneasy.

"How is he?" Yakko asked anxiously. The nurse bit her lip.

"He's holding on so far," she said. "But I'm afraid we're going need more time than we thought."

Dot couldn't stop herself from whimpering as she clutched Yakko's arm. The nurse looked at her and smiled gently, her eyes kind and full of sympathy.

"We'll let you know as soon as he's out of surgery," she said. "But I can assure you both that your brother is in good hands."

After she hurried back through the door, Dot closed her eyes.

"What… what if…" she whispered.

She felt Yakko hug her gently.

"He's gonna be okay," he said, but she could hear the tremor in his voice.

Footsteps came from behind, and then Kay spoke again.

"I have to go report this," she said softly. "Is there anyone you want me to call?"

Dot suddenly felt angry; who was there to call? Their parents were gone, their brother was fighting for his life, and because of the same person. A person who should have been stopped years ago! She whirled around and glared through her tears.

"Like who?" she snapped. "Mom and Dad?"

"Dot," Yakko said, but she just turned and pushed past him, storming over to the side of the room. As she stared at the wall, clenching her fists, she heard her brother's voice.

"Sorry," he said tiredly. The monotone in his voice was frightening.

"It's all right, I understand," Kay replied shortly, her voice sounding strangely tight. "You have a right to be mad. I'll be in touch."

Dot heard rapid footsteps walking away, then Danny spoke.

"She didn't mean to sound like that," he said quietly. "She's scared too. Call if you need anything, okay?"

There was the sound of more footsteps walking away, then Dot felt a hand on her shoulder.

Her throat tightened and she turned, letting her brother hug her. For once, he didn't say anything. Finally, he let go and sat down again with a heavy sigh.

Dot slowly pulled herself onto the chair beside him and gazed down at the floor. Even though she had been very young, she could still feel a faint memory of another night when they were waiting just like this. Her mind reeling, Dot looked down at her feet and found herself focusing on the contrast between the white fur on them and the black on her ankles.

_Black and white, black and white, black and white…_

She kept chanting the words over and over in her head, if only to avoid thinking about her other brother hanging between life and death behind the door. She looked up when Yakko inhaled sharply. She followed his look to the small TV in the waiting room. A reporter was talking on screen.

"… police sources suggest that the shooter was the same perpetrator of the sporadic attacks on toons over the past few days. We also have it on good authority that the injured toon is now in critical condition. We're trying to get a name, but the Burbank police insist that…"

Dot looked at Yakko; his jaw was clenched in anger. He pulled a remote out of his hammer space and slammed his thumb onto the power button, turning the TV off.

"Don't they have anything better to do?" he growled fiercely, then got up and started pacing. "Instead of jawing on, they could help look for the guy!"

Dot looked down again; he looked so angry that it was scaring her. She focused her attention on her feet again.

_Black and white, black and white…_

Suddenly, a hand on her shoulder made her jump.

"Dot?"

She looked up to see Yakko looking at her, the anger in his face replaced with concern. She blinked and realized that her face was wet with tears.

"Sis?" her brother asked softly. Dot tried to reply, but nothing came out. All of a sudden, she was sobbing uncontrollably. Yakko sighed and sat down, then wrapped his arms around her until the tears finally stopped.

"I-I'm sorry," she sniffled as she drew back. "If I didn't... you wouldn't have…"

Yakko shook his head.

"No, it's not your fault," he said dully. "It… it just…" He trailed off and buried his face in his hands. His shoulders started shaking, but no sound came. Dot slowly reached over and touched his arm, but she couldn't think of anything to say. So instead, she looked back down at her feet and focused on mentally chanting her mantra as her eyes burned. Maybe if she didn't cry, everything would be okay.

….

For some reason, Yakko couldn't stop thinking about the old yellow blanket he used to have when he was little. Whenever things felt too scary or overwhelming, he would pull it over his head and it somehow soothed him. All the problems would seem to disappear. Even though he was twelve years old now, he found himself wishing he still had it.

He looked over at his sister; she'd been staring down blankly almost the whole time. Tears were in her eyes, but she didn't cry. He opened his mouth, hoping to say something encouraging, but for once there was nothing to say. Yakko let out a sigh and looked up at the clock. His heart fell: it had been almost four hours and there was still no news on Wakko. How much longer could it take?

Suddenly his ears pricked as the door to the waiting room opened and the nurse who spoke to them earlier came out, followed by a doctor. Dot instantly grabbed his arm tightly, and he could feel her shaking. Placing his hand on hers, Yakko took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice from trembling.

"I-is he okay?"

The nurse smiled slightly and the doctor placed a hand on his shoulder before speaking.

"Well, he pulled through surgery, but it's too soon to know. He's still unconscious, but you can go in if…"

Both siblings jumped up, making the doctor smile. Leading his sister by the hand, Yakko did his best to keep up a calm demeanor as they were led down the hall. However, his resolve quickly evaporated when he saw Wakko.

He looked so tiny and weak lying in that bed, his unkempt hair no longer hidden by his cap, which sat on the table nearby. Ink flowed through the IV in his arm and a small oxygen feed was helping him breathe. Dot clutched Yakko's hand tighter.

"You can stay with him," the doctor said quietly. "But please come get me if anything changes. I'll be back to check."

After he closed the door, Dot immediately hurried over and sat down at the bedside, gently taking her brother's limp hand. Yakko walked over to the other side of the bed, keeping his eyes on the heart monitor. The spikes were very slow, but at least somewhat steady. He slowly sat down too, looking from the monitor to Wakko.

As the hours ticked past, no one spoke. The only sounds were the beeping of the heart monitor and Wakko's heavy breathing. Yakko couldn't stop watching, afraid that it might stop again. As long as he lived, he would never forget that horrible feeling of his brother's life fading away. If help hadn't come in time… the thought was too horrible to bear.

"What happened?"

Yakko blinked and looked up to see Dot looking at him with wide, curious eyes.

"Uh, what?" he stammered, pretending he hadn't heard. His sister sighed impatiently.

"What happened?" she repeated. "When he got hit?"

Yakko clenched his teeth and his head fogged, a sickening pain rising in him at the memory.

"I… I'm not sure," he said out loud. "I didn't really see it."

Dot frowned at him.

"What?"

Yakko groaned inwardly as he realized how lame that must've sounded.

"I, uh… I mean… I don't really wanna talk about it," he stammered.

His sister frowned suspiciously at him; Yakko braced himself, knowing she was about to push further, but at that moment a knock came at the door and the doctor who spoke to them earlier entered.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said quietly. "But can I have a moment with your brother?"

Dot immediately glared and was about to protest when Yakko laid a firm hand on her shoulder.

"You sure we can't stay?"

The doctor smiled sadly but nodded.

"I'm sorry, but it's hospital procedure."

Dot watched in disbelief as Yakko nodded reluctantly. This was completely unlike him. The doctor placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'll call you as soon as I'm done."

Yakko nodded again, then turned back to Dot. She looked at him with what she was sure was a glare.

"C'mon, sis," he said, ignoring her frown. With no other option, she sighed and followed him out. In the waiting room, she sat beside him and crossed her arms.

"Okay, what was that?" she demanded. "I figured you'd yap on till the guy gave up."

Yakko let out a sigh and placed his arms on his knees.

"Look, the guy's a doctor," he said in a strangely quiet voice. "He knows what he's doing."

Dot stared at her oldest brother, puzzled by how weird he was acting. He seemed almost… guilty.

"What's up with you?" she asked incredulously. Her eyes widened when he glared at her.

"What do you think?" he muttered bitterly. "I haven't slept all night, my brother's barely alive, and I'm sitting in a hospital with no idea where the guy who did this to him is."

With a heavy sigh, he slumped and pressed a hand to his forehead. His shoulders shuddered a few times, and then he shook his head.

"I-I'm sorry."

Dot sighed and scooted closer to her brother, leaning against him.

"It's okay," she said softly.

Yakko wrapped an arm around his sister, and they both watched the door. After what felt like hours, it finally opened and they immediately stood. As Dot headed over to the side of the bed and sat back down, the doctor caught Yakko's eye and motioned to the hall. Unease immediately filling him, he stood and followed, giving Dot a reassuring smile. But he couldn't help wondering why the man wanted to talk to him alone, unless the news was too upsetting for his sister. Yakko bit his lip and decided to get the question out of the way.

"So what's going on?" he asked softly. "Is he…is he gonna…?" The doctor placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but I still can't say for certain. His condition is very unstable. We'll have to see if he makes it through the night. You and your sister may stay if you want, but if it will be too difficult…"

Yakko clenched his fists; he knew the doctor was just trying to help, but he still felt angry at the implication that he couldn't stand being with his brother.

"Hard or not, we're all the family we've got and we stick together," he said in a slightly fierce voice. "So just do your job and let me do mine."

To his surprise, the doctor simply nodded and stepped aside.

"Someone will be on call."

Yakko smiled despite himself.

"Thanks."

He watched as the doctor nodded and walked away, then sighed and went back into his brother's room; to his disappointment, he was out again. Dot looked up from her seat beside him.

"What's going on?" she asked. Yakko considered not telling her what the doctor said, but then he saw the serious look on her face. He sighed and knelt beside her, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"It's still bad, sis. The…" he stopped and tried to gulp down the lump in his throat. "The doc says it can go either way."

Dot bit her lip and looked down for a while, then looked up with wide eyes.

"But… we can still stay, right?" she asked anxiously.

Yakko smiled slightly and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah," he said. "Guess you're up for it, then?"

Dot glared at him.

"Of course I am, you moron."

He couldn't help chuckling softly at that.

…

The Burbank police station was finally winding down after a hectic night. A sergeant cracked his back as he stood from his desk. His commanding officer in Minneapolis had told him to expect much more excitement when he transferred here but he never would have guessed that his first assignment would be a toon shooting, much less one where the victim was just eight years old.

_Poor kid… not much older than my youngest. God only knows what his family's going through._

He sighed as he headed to the hall, suddenly eager to get home to his own family. A light caught his eye as he passed one room, and he hesitated to look in. A young woman was slumped over a desk strewn with papers, her unkempt hair spilling over her face. The officer shook his head and walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder. She jolted awake, grabbing at some papers as they fell to the floor.

"I…" she muttered. "What, what's…"

"Ms. Nichols," the officer said gently. "You've been working at this all night. Your boyfriend has called and he's very worried. Leave it alone for tonight."

The girl looked up at him, and the man swallowed when he saw her wet, red-rimmed eyes and the deep pain that seemed to scream from their depths.

"How… how can I?" she whispered. "I… I left before… shouldn't have…"

The officer frowned slightly in confusion, then decided her strange words were due to exhaustion.

"You're not gonna be much help if you put yourself in the hospital," he said. "Go home, get some rest."

The young woman stiffened, then sighed heavily and stood. The officer quickly steadied her as she stumbled slightly.

"Do you need someone to drive you?"

She shook her head.

"No… I-I'll be all right. Thanks."

The officer watched as she picked up her bag and slowly walked out. He'd assumed Kay Nichols was just another one of those detectives who insisted on working at every possible lead, but after seeing her feverish, almost desperate work and her sadness just now, he found himself wondering.

Just how personal was this case to her… and why?

**A/N: In response to the reviews for my previous chapter, I have brought a quick update and a chapter that turned out much longer than any others I've written. It may not have all the answers, but hopefully it helped a little. I'll update again soon, so don't worry!**


	11. The Sound of Rain

The early morning sky was gray, and the pattering of rain filtered through the half closed blinds. Dot stifled a yawn as she sat by the hospital bed, holding her brother's hand. The weather seemed to reflect how she felt inside. She just hoped it wasn't a bad omen.

The faint sound of an angry voice came from the other side of the door; Yakko was out telling off another reporter. Dot knew they had a job to do, but she couldn't understand why it meant so little to them to bother traumatized people. She sighed and sank down in the chair, wondering why that doctor was taking so long to get in.

As she watched Wakko, she almost felt like she was looking at someone she didn't even know. How could this limp shell be her crazy, wacked out brother? A lump suddenly rose in her throat and she gripped his hand tightly.

"Wakko Warner, you've never backed out of anything in your life," she said through clenched teeth. "And I'm sure as hell not letting you do it now, so you better make up your poor excuse of a mind to snap out of it."

Finally, the door opened and Yakko came back in, looking just as worn out. He dropped into the other seat and rubbed his eyes.

"Finally," he muttered. "I was starting to think I'd have to mallet the guy and drag him out."

Dot couldn't help giggling a little at the thought. Yakko grinned slightly at her, but his face quickly dropped as he looked at Wakko.

"Anything happen while I was gone?"

Dot shook her head slowly, then sniffled as she remembered the fiasco in the tower.

"I was mean to him," she said softly.

Yakko placed a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't notice.

"Now… if he doesn't wake up…"

Yakko immediately shuddered.

"Don't," he said sharply. Dot bit her lip, but she tried not to let the harsh tone sting too much. She knew he was just as scared.

For several moments, neither spoke as they listened to the beeping of the heart monitor, still slow but now a little steadier. The sound used to be comforting, but by now it was frustrating: a mocking reminder that even though they were all in the same room, they weren't together.

…

Yakko had known some long days in his life, but he was pretty sure this one was the longest yet. Waiting half the morning was bad enough, and then when the pinhead doctor had finally shown up he told them little to nothing; only that the immediate danger, whatever that meant, seemed to be lessening and it was just a matter of waiting. Even Kay hadn't talked to them since yesterday, but Danny had called once to say she was sorry and things were too busy. Still, it felt like she was avoiding them for some reason.

As he looked at his ailing sibling, Yakko tried hard not to think about what today marked. He didn't necessarily believe in jinxing but he'd be damned if he was taking that risk now. Glancing over at Dot, he could see her fear as well. He knew he should reach out and comfort her somehow, but instead he just sat. The truth was, he just didn't have the energy… or the heart.

_Why? Why did this happen? What did he do? What did __**we**__ do?_

A heavy sigh escaped as he let his head fall to his hand.

_It's what I did. It's my fault._

The rain on the window seemed to come from a distance as he closed his eyes.

_How can I ever fix this?_

The tears began to threaten, but as Yakko tried to hold them back, his ears suddenly twitched. He looked up, but nothing had moved. He was about to shrug it off when they twitched again, and this time he caught it; it was just a very faint moan, little more than a sigh, but he recognized the voice immediately. A stirring motion from the bed confirmed it.

Yakko felt his heart pound as he watched his brother anxiously. Dot gasped and scooted a little closer, still holding his hand. Wakko stirred again; his eyes fluttered. His voice was little more than a barely audible rasp, but the word was clear.

"… S-… sibs…"

Dot smiled as tears spilled from her eyes and gently kissed his forehead.

"We're here, Wakko," she said in a soft, almost motherly tone. "We're right here."

Wakko's hand slowly closed around hers, then his eyes finally opened halfway and he slowly looked between them. A weak little smile appeared on his face.

Yakko felt tears fill his eyes as he smiled back and leaned forward, touching noses with his brother like he hadn't done for a long time.

"You are grounded till the next millennium," he said softly. His joy was quickly undermined by concern when Wakko closed his eyes and groaned, his face tight with pain.

"Unh…"

Dot quickly slipped her hand out of his and shot out the door. Wakko opened his eyes again and glanced beside him. He frowned slightly and tried to speak, but Yakko quickly laid a hand on his arm.

"It's okay, she's just getting the doc."

Almost right after he spoke, Dot came running back in hauling the doctor in question behind her. If the fresh coffee stain on his coat was any indication, she had dragged him out of the doctor's lounge. He looked extremely flustered, but then smiled at Wakko.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're awake."

Yakko frowned with worry as his brother tried to answer, but all that came out was a soft groan. The doctor smiled slightly as he walked over.

"It's all right if you can't talk now," he said. "Just try to rest."

Wakko nodded slowly and closed his eyes. The doctor examined the equipment, then turned to the siblings and motioned outside. They reluctantly left their brother's side and followed him. Outside, Yakko immediately stepped forward.

"What's going on?" he asked anxiously. The doctor quickly placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"Try not to worry… he's doing much better than I expected. He isn't out of the woods yet, but I believe the worst has passed."

Yakko closed his eyes as relief filled him, almost making his legs give out, as Dot leaped up and gave the startled man a hug. The moment was quickly interrupted when the hospital door burst open and a man with oversized glasses and a notepad ran in. Dot glanced in confusion at Yakko to see him clench his fists, an angry look on his face.

"I told you to get lost!" he snapped at the man, who gulped uneasily.

"Yes, yes, I know, but if I could just ask your brother a few quick questions…"

Dot glared daggers at the man, causing him to immediately back up a step. The doctor quickly moved forward.

"That's enough. I'll give you a comment if you insist on it, but he's in no condition for an interview and neither are they."

He turned back to the two Warners.

"You can go back inside now," he said gently.

Dot clenched her fists, still glaring at the reporter, and Yakko quickly tugged her arm before she decided to sock him.

"C'mon, Dot… he's not worth it."

Dot sighed and started to follow him, but before going through the door she whirled around and stuck her tongue out at the reporter. Yakko rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hold back an amused grin. After closing the door, he turned and smiled; Dot had climbed up on the bed and nestled against her brother. Without opening his eyes, Wakko slowly turned his head so his chin rested on her head. Within a minute, both were breathing deeply in sleep.

Suddenly realizing how exhausted he was, Yakko trudged over and sat on the other side of the bed. Putting an arm around both siblings, he closed his eyes. His last thought before falling into a deep sleep was how soothing the sound of rain had suddenly become.

**Da da da daaaaa! Another quick update! It took a little longer than I expected, but hopefully the wait was worth it. I just love sappy reunion scenes, don't you? **

**The next chapter will hopefully be up soon! Thank you all so much for your continuing support on my very first long fanfiction, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. God Bless!**


	12. Back

_Ow… where am I? Why does my back hurt, and… is someone holding my hand?_

Wakko tried to sit up in order to look around, but pain and nauseating dizziness immediately stopped him.

Slumping back, he forced himself not to fall back into the pleasant black fog of unconsciousness. He had to figure out where he was. After several attempts, he finally pushed his eyes open again. The white blur that met them made his head hurt, but he kept blinking, trying to discern his surroundings. Judging from the overwhelming lack of color, he certainly wasn't home.

Finally, things slid into focus: a white bed, a tube running up to his nose… confused, Wakko looked down. His memory stirred when he saw the hint of a bandage under the blanket, just below his chest. The man with the gun, pain slicing into his back…

"What…"

To Wakko's surprise, his voice came out a croak, as if he hadn't used it for a while. He swallowed and tried again.

"W-Where… am I?"

He'd barely gotten the words out before a pink and black blur flashed beside him and a familiar voice rang out.

"Yakko! Yakko, he said something! Look, he's waking up!"

Wakko closed his eyes for a minute, then opened them to see his brother smiling down at him before leaning down and hugging him gently.

"Hey," he said in a rough voice, as if he was trying hard not to cry.

Wakko nestled into his shoulder, but after a few minutes a swell of pain and nausea made him moan as exhaustion began flooding his brain. Yakko immediately let go and laid him back, and the last thing he was aware of was his head meeting the pillow.

…

"Why do they always throw us out here when they check on him?" Dot complained as she slumped in her seat. Yakko tried not to roll his eyes.

"They're not throwing us out, sis," he said for what felt like the fiftieth time. "It's just one of those dumb rules hospitals have."

His thin hope that she'd accept a simple explanation vanished when his sister huffed and crossed her arms.

"Dumb is right! Who do they think they're messing with? If they don't start talking straight pretty soon I'm gonna pound on them, and then I'm gonna pound on our idiot brother for getting into this in the first place…"

Yakko sighed and rubbed his head, consigning himself to another headache. He quickly looked up at a movement, but it wasn't quite what he expected.

Kay stood nearby, shifting from one foot to the other. Once Yakko saw her, she shivered slightly and looked at the ground before slowly walking toward them. Dot finally noticed and stopped her rant, her eyes widening. Before either could speak, Kay smiled weakly.

"Hey," she said softly. Yakko was startled when Dot jumped up and ran over, hugging her leg. Kay looked surprised as well, but she knelt down and patted her back before looking up at Yakko. He was stunned at how drained she looked; dark circles were visible under her watery eyes and strain lined her forehead.

"I decided to stop on my way to work," she said, sounding as if she was apologizing. "I… I hope that's okay."

Dot stopped hugging her and looked up at her, looking as confused as Yakko felt. Trying to lighten the mood, he shrugged and gave Kay a grin.

"Why not? Two's company, three's a blast."

Kay blinked a few times, then smiled slightly before standing again.

"So, um…" she said, glancing toward the door. "How is he?"

Dot pouted as she headed back to her seat.

"I'd say you'd be better off asking the hospital people, but that's not working too good for us."

Yakko couldn't stop his tail from twitching with impatience as he frowned at the waiting room door.

Kay sighed heavily and bit her lip as she glanced at the floor.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to come sooner, but I…" She swallowed. "I wasn't sure if you'd want me around right now."

Dot sadly looked at her feet.

"I'm sorry I was mean," she said. Kay looked at her in surprise.

"Oh no, no, it wasn't you. I guess it just reminded me of…"

Her eyes grew distant for a moment, then she shook her head and rubbed her brow. Yakko thought he saw tears glistening in her eyes, but her hand swiped over them before he was sure.

"Uh… sorry. I… I haven't been very well lately."

After taking a deep breath, Kay looked up, but her voice was tight again when she spoke.

"I-I'm sorry, but I've gotta get to work."

She placed a hand on Yakko's shoulder and smiled.

"Call if you need to, okay?"

Both siblings smiled back and nodded, but after Kay left they looked at each other in confusion.

"That was weird," Dot said; Yakko nodded, already deep in thought. From what he'd seen from Kay so far, he was left in little doubt: she was hurting too, and deeply.

…

_Wakko smiled up at his mother as she sat beside him, softly singing one of her many songs. _

"_Yes, you're the only one of you there are," she finished, making him giggle as she tickled his nose with one finger. She smiled lovingly at him._

"_Do you feel better now?"_

_He smiled back at her and nodded happily. Her singing always helped._

"_Good," she said, gently running a hand across his hair. Wakko felt his eyes growing heavy, but he looked up at her again. _

"_Mama?" he asked._

_When she looked at him, he glanced at her slightly rounded stomach._

"_Am I gonna be a big brother, too?" _

_His mother giggled and rested a hand on her belly._

"_Yes, you are," she said, then her smile lessened slightly. "Don't you want to be?"_

_Wakko quickly nodded, but then looked at her worriedly._

"_But won't that mean you can't sing anymore?" he asked. "Cause I'm too big?"_

"_Oh, sweetheart…" _

_She leaned down and gave him a tight hug._

"_Of course not. You won't ever be too old for that."_

_Wakko smiled and nestled against her._

"_I really won't?"_

_His mother chuckled as she tucked him back in._

"_Whenever you need it, I'll be here to do it."_

_His worry completely gone now, Wakko sighed and closed his eyes, smiling as she gently kissed his forehead._

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise," she said, her voice fading into the mist of slumber. "Sweet dreams…"_

…

Wakko slowly opened his eyes, but his smile faded when he saw no one was beside him and he was still in the white hospital room. He groaned quietly as he stretched his legs and felt his stomach rumble despite his extreme discomfort. At least that part was apparently unfazed. A rustling sound made him turn his head and find a familiar doctor examining the equipment by his bed. The man looked at him and smiled.

"Hello there," he said. "How do you feel today?"

"Hungry," Wakko muttered, only half paying attention as he looked around. Why was he alone? Where were his siblings?

The doctor cleared his throat to hide a laugh and gave him a reassuring look.

"Don't worry," he said. "Your family's right outside. I just needed to look some things over."

He took one more look at the equipment, then nodded and jotted something down on his clipboard.

"All right, everything looks okay. Keep resting and I'll send them back in, all right?"

Wakko nodded, his hand quivering as he rubbed his eyes. The doctor smiled and left the room, then a few moments later the door opened again. The minute she saw him awake, Dot shot across the floor. Wakko barely had time to brace himself before he was hit by an extremely tight (and for him, painful) hug.

"Wakko!" she squealed. "You're back! You're back!"

Her brother shuddered as the shrill sound made his head spin.

"D-Dot…" he choked. "Can't… b-breathe…" Yakko quickly walked over, looking worried but also slightly amused.

"Easy does it, little sis," he said.

The crushing embrace immediately eased, and Wakko felt tears staining his fur as Dot nestled against his chest, clinging to him as if she was scared to let go.

"Y-… you idiot…" she whimpered.

Biting back pain, Wakko slowly wrapped an arm around her and looked up as Yakko sat down on his other side. Smiling, he placed a hand on his forehead and stroked it gently.

"Hiya, kiddo," he said tenderly. "How ya feeling?"

Wakko winced and smiled weakly; there was a slight improvement, but was more like feeling as though he'd been hit by a bus instead of a train. He was more interested in figuring out what was happening to him now.

"What… what's g-going on?"

His brother frowned, looking even more worried.

"You don't remember?"

Wakko shivered. He did remember what happened in the lot, but there was almost nothing between then and now. He had no idea how he'd ended up here and was extremely confused, not to mention scared. He in a hospital, he was hurt, and no one was telling him how bad it was.

"No… I do. I-… I just…" He took a slightly shaky breath and decided to get the question that frightened him most out of the way.

"A-am I… gonna die?"

Yakko smiled slightly and ran a hand through his hair.

"You're not gonna die, sib," he said reassuringly. "The doc said you gotta stay a while yet, but you're gonna be fine."

Well, there was one worry down. Wakko decided to ask the next one.

"Dot…"

His sister took a deep breath and glared at him.

"What?" she asked sharply.

"A-are you… mad?"

The scowl dropped instantly. After a moment, she whimpered and buried her face in his chest again.

"I'll be mad when I'm not so happy you're alive, you moron."

**Finally! Sorry it took a while, been struggling with a nasty case of writer's block and unresolved plot holes. Never fear, I do my best with this story until it's complete. And just to clear up any possible confusion, I know Wakko was awake before, I just imagine things would be very hazy the first time, and he might not even really remember it. Just so you know. Hope you liked this new chapter and I'll update as soon as I can! Good night everybody! **


	13. Truth

Dot couldn't help sighing as she shifted restlessly on her seat. She'd hoped that she and her brothers could at least chat now, but Wakko was still too exhausted to talk much and had drifted off before long. As for Yakko, he was curled in a ball in his own chair, snoring lightly. At least they were both getting the rest they needed.

Finally, Dot pulled her legs up into the chair and was about to try napping herself when a knock came on the door. She quickly hit her brother's arm, causing him to start awake and almost fall out of the chair.

"Huh? Michelle?"

"No," Dot said quietly before the door opened. "It's Morgan Freeman."

Yakko quickly rubbed his eyes as the doctor stepped in.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," he said quietly. "But I was hoping to discuss something with you."

Yakko cracked his neck and stood.

"I'll go."

Dot nodded; both of them never left unless they had to. Shewatched the door close and turned back to the bed. Sadness tugged at her as she looked at her heavily sleeping brother. She had never seen him or Yakko so sick, and it almost made her feel vulnerable somehow.

Letting out another sigh, Dot reached over and lightly placed a hand on his. Wakko stirred and mumbled something about clowns before opening his eyes. Dot smiled at him.

"Well, you look terrible… more so than usual, anyway," she teased. Her brother grinned weakly.

"Morning to you too, sis…"

He winced and groaned softly, then glanced around the room. Dot rolled her eyes toward the door.

"Yakko's out talking to Dr. No," she said, then smiled again. "So how do ya feel?"

"Like I just… sat through fifty insurance speeches," Wakko muttered drily, making her giggle, but she frowned when he sighed and laid his head back.

"Are you okay?" she asked uneasily.

Her brother smiled at her.

"Yeah… just glad I'm still here," he said softly, then patted the spot on the bed beside him.

Being careful of the IV still in his arm, Dot climbed up and settled down beside him, laying her head on his shoulder.

"That makes two of us."

…

Meanwhile, out in the hall, Yakko was trying not to yawn through all the medical lingo the doctor was giving him.

"Look, mister," he finally said. "Can you just tell me if he's gonna be okay?"

The man couldn't help smiling.

"Yes, he'll be fine. Toons heal quickly, and your brother is doing very well. If there are no complications, he shouldn't have to stay much more than a few more days."

Yakko couldn't help grinning at the thought of how happy his siblings would be to hear that, and felt the last of his tension melting away.

"Thanks, doc," he said. After the doctor walked away, he turned back to the door, but his hand stopped on the knob. With his mind no longer distracted, the memory of his and Wakko's fight suddenly crashed back into his brain and his eyes started burning as his hands shook.

Instinctively, Yakko clenched his fists, trying to force himself back under control. He jumped at a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Kay looking at him with an extremely concerned look. When had she gotten there?

"Are you okay?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Still too choked to answer, Yakko looked down. To his dismay, the tears began to overflow. He was suddenly folded in a comforting embrace. Startled, he immediately stiffened, but Kay didn't move away.

"It's all right," she said in a quiet, soothing tone.

After a moment Yakko slumped, a strangled groan escaping his throat. Kay didn't say anything, but kept her arms around him as he struggled not to cry. When he finally regained control, she drew back and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"What's going on? Did something happen?"

Not trusting himself to speak, Yakko shook his head and wiped his eyes. Seeing the worry still in hers, he took a deep breath.

"It's just… I…"

Kay smiled gently.

"You've been through a lot," she said. "Things like this are perfectly normal."

It would have been easy to just leave it at that, but the guilt was finally too much.

"We had a fight," Yakko heard himself saying. Letting out a sigh, he leaned against the wall and sank to the floor. It was out; there was no turning back. After a moment, Kay sat down beside him. Almost right away, the whole story came spilling out. She never spoke, just listened.

Once he finished, Yakko risked a sideways glance at Kay and was startled to see no blame or judgment in her look, only sympathy and understanding. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yakko, did you know this was going to happen?"

"No," he replied, slightly confused.

"Did you mean what you said?"

His throat tightened again and he looked down, shaking his head.

"All right," Kay said. "Then don't worry about it. And if you still feel bad, just say you're sorry. Maybe not right now," she quickly said when she saw his face. "But when you're ready."

Yakko looked up at her and she smiled at him. The smile stirred a memory of when he was young and the comfort he once received from his parents. A faint smile tugged his face.

"Thanks," he said. Kay nodded, then her smile faded as she glanced at the door.

"So, is it okay for me to come in?"

Yakko grinned and stood.

"You just fixed a life crisis," he said, then spoke louder. "It's okay for you to read Dot's diary."

"I heard that!" his sister yelled behind the door. "And don't you dare!"

Kay giggled as she followed Yakko inside.

"Don't worry… his idea, not mine."

She smiled at Wakko, who brightened immediately when he saw her.

"You look good," she said, earning a smug grin. But her smile faded as she looked toward the ground.

"I know I've been acting strange," she said softly. "And I think I owe you an explanation, considering I haven't done much else to make you trust me."

The siblings looked at each other in unease, but before either could protest Kay spoke again.

"When I told you my father died when I was ten, it… it wasn't really true. He was in an accident and… something happened to his brain. He left us."

Yakko was pretty sure his jaw had dropped a foot, and he had a feeling his sibs looked the same.

_Wasn't expecting that._

Kay glanced upward, than shuddered and quickly continued.

"After I moved here for college, one of my first friends was a toon… Tia."

At that name, Yakko felt his ears twitch. He had heard her say that name before.

"A few years into school, she… she was dipped. They caught the person who did it on the scene."

A weight suddenly seemed to settle on her shoulders, and her voice was ragged when she spoke again.

"It was my father."

As the Warners stared in disbelief, Kay sank down into a chair and buried her head in her hands. Despite his shock, Yakko couldn't help feeling sympathy for her obvious pain. He was about to move to comfort her, when his sister's sharp voice broke the silence.

"Why did you lie?" she demanded. "Why'd you say he was dead?"

Yakko glared at her, but the damage was done. Kay stiffened and stood up, her eyes flashing.

"It's easier to say that then 'he's spending his pathetic life rotting in a booby hatch," she said fiercely. Despite himself, Yakko blew a kiss.

"G'night everybody!"

After glaring at him, Kay walked quickly to the door. She opened it and hesitated for a moment before looking back.

"And as far as I'm concerned, he is."

The door closed, and she was gone.


	14. What Can I Do

"Hey, where's all the peanut butter?"

Dot rolled her eyes.

"You ate it," she called.

"Oh, right. Now, where's the syrup…"

A few moments later, Wakko came out from the kitchen munching down the last of a sandwich. Dot cringed at the thought of what might be in it.

"How can you stuff your face like that when you just got out of the hospital four days ago?"

Her brother let out a burp and patted his stomach.

"What can I say? Got a cast-iron stomach," he said proudly.

"Yeah, like your brain," Dot muttered.

Wakko shrugged and headed to the couch, but couldn't disguise a wince as he sat down. Dot frowned, but didn't say anything; she knew he didn't like to constantly be asked how he was. He gave her a little smile and nod, and she smiled back before turning to her other brother, who had been engrossed in a National Geographic magazine the whole time.

"Where'd you get that dumb thing anyway?"

"Stole it from the hospital," he replied without looking up. "Hey, did y' know there's a snail in Australia that can kill you?"

Wakko's eyes widened in wonder.

"Faboo…"

Dot rolled her eyes.

"Another reason why everyone who lives there is a nutcase. Now be quiet, the movie's gonna start."

"What're we watching, anyway?" Yakko asked, looking up.

The last Twilight," Dot replied. Both her brothers immediately froze. After almost a minute, they slowly turned to look at her with wide eyes.

"Wakko…" Yakko said slowly. "I think our little sister is…"

He gulped.

"… Corrupted."

"Oh!" Dot gasped, clutching her chest. "Oh, the horror, the shame! Accused of such a travesty by my own flesh and blood! Why? _**Why**_?"

She burst into dramatic sobbing, earning impressed applause.

"Guess those acting lessons are finally paying off," Yakko said with a grin.

Dot smiled proudly and turned back to the TV.

"I just wanna see if it's as bad as the other ones."

"I bet it's worse," Yakko said. Wakko shuddered and pulled his hat over his eyes.

"Tell me when it's over."

About two hours later, as the movie credits rolled up the screen, the only sound besides the music was Wakko snoring. After a minute, Yakko stood up.

"Be right back," he said as he headed for the door.

"Where're you going?" Dot asked. Her brother turned and grinned.

"To smash my head into the sidewalk till I forget what I just saw."

Dot giggled, wondering whether or not he was serious. After he left, she glanced at Wakko curled up on his side of the couch. Other than sleeping a lot and occasional pain spasms, he seemed to be getting better fast. She'd been relieved at first, but lately she was starting to notice that his upbeat attitude seemed a little strained, especially around Yakko.

Come to think of it, they both seemed kind of tense around each other. She'd asked about it a few times, but always got the typical response that it was 'guy stuff', and she knew well enough what that meant.

_Boys… why are they always too macho to talk things out?_

Of course, as far as Dot was concerned, macho just meant stupid. She couldn't help feeling annoyed with her brothers for adding more tension to their situation. Ever since her confession in the hospital, Kay didn't talk to them nearly as much, and when she did it was clear she could barely hide her shame.

_Not that she shouldn't be… she lied to us,_ Dot thought bitterly.

Suddenly she noticed something out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Wakko tensing in his sleep. A few moments later he started trembling and letting out frightened whimpers, his legs twitching as sweat beaded his forehead.

"N-no…" he gasped. "No, don't… please, no…"

Out of nowhere, he started thrashing and kicking. Dot shrank back in fear as he let out a scream, still not waking up. As the cries continued, she took a deep breath and braced herself before she jumped over and grabbed his shoulders, shaking them.

"Wakko!" she yelled. "Wakko, wake up! Wake up!"

He cried out again as his eyes snapped open; they were glazed over and wild with terror.

"NO!" he shrieked as he leaped off the couch and stumbled backward, his eyes darting around wildly.

"Don't kill me!" he screamed. "Please don't hurt me!"

He hit the wall and immediately sank to the floor, curling into a fetal position and rocking back and forth, shaking all over. Dot watched in panic, trying to think what to do. Where was Yakko when she needed him?

_Don't be a baby! You're here, __**you**__ gotta handle it._

She slowly slid off the couch and approached her brother cautiously, afraid that a sudden movement would scare him even more.

"Wakko?" she asked softly, reaching out a hand. He flinched when she brushed his arm and she drew it back, kneeling down.

"Don't be scared, it's me. He's gone."

As she kept speaking in a soothing tone, the wild look faded from her brother's eyes and they filled with tears. Still shaking, he buried his head in his arms and kept rocking.

"Don't let him get me," he whimpered as tears streamed down his face. "D-don't let him…"

Fighting back tears of her own, Dot moved over beside him and carefully wrapped her arms around his trembling body. As he cried, she began gently rubbing his back, like Yakko did while comforting one of them.

"Shh, it's okay," she murmured. "No one's gonna hurt you."

Finally, the shaking began to subside. Dot drew back, but kept a hand on his back.

"Was it a bad dream?" she asked softly. Wakko nodded timidly, his eyes suddenly red and drawn with exhaustion.

"Like the one at the hospital?" she asked, remembering the last night they were there. He immediately tensed.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered uneasily. Dot frowned in confusion, then her eyes widened.

"That wasn't the only time, was it?"

Her brother's eyes immediately began darting from her to the floor.

"I… I, uh…"

Dot kept staring at him, and he finally slumped with a heavy sigh.

"No," he croaked. Dot felt her eyes start stinging.

"Since then?" she whispered. Wakko closed his eyes and hung his head, nodding again.

"But…" his sister said. "We… we never heard."

"I… I bite down on something before I fall asleep," he said quietly, then looked up in sudden alarm. "You're not gonna tell Yakko, are you?"

Dot drew back, startled.

"Well, I…"

Her brother grabbed her hands, his eyes wide and frantic.

"Don't tell him! I-I'll get over it, really! Promise you won't tell! Please!"

Dot's mind was racing with confusion, but as she looked at his desperate eyes, she let her shoulders slump and looked at the floor.

"I promise," she said softly.

Wakko sighed in relief and slowly stood, wincing as he did, and smiled at her.

"Thanks."

Just then, the door clicked and started to open. Wakko jumped and quickly scurried to his room just before Yakko came back in. He glanced from her to the hall and cocked his head.

"What's up?"

Dot quickly shrugged and hid her confusion.

"Nothing… he just got tired."

She knew she wasn't lying, not really, but the words still nearly stuck in her throat.

_**Later… **_

In the middle of the night, Dot woke up suddenly. Quietly, she slipped out of her room and crept down the hall. Stopping by the door to Wakko's room, her heart fell at the sound of stifled cries and whimpers from behind it. She almost went in, but stopped herself; he would just feel worse for waking her up.

Dot slowly walked back to her room and flopped on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She wanted to help her brother, but she'd made a promise and couldn't break it.

_What can I do?_


	15. Forgiveness

The clanging of someone knocking on the tower door snapped Wakko out of a tired daze. He shook his head as he shifted on the couch and glanced quickly at his siblings, sighing with relief that they hadn't noticed anything during their so-called 'friendly debate' over the remote. For once, being quiet paid off.

"Ooh, a sales guy!" Yakko said, hopping off the couch. "Guess we'll get a special friend for today!"

Wakko and Dot jumped up eagerly as their brother trotted to the door, but when he opened it, he immediately stiffened and Dot glared.

"What do you want?" Yakko snapped. Wakko frowned and cocked his head; he didn't recognize the guy, and if he'd seen those dumb glasses anywhere else he'd definitely remember it. The man shifted on his feet, looking extremely uneasy.

"W-well, I'm terribly sorry, but my boss insisted I ask you and your brother some questions and I was told there was no objection, so…"

There was a momentary pause, then Yakko sighed bitterly.

"How many?"

"Only a few," the reporter said reassuringly. "Ten minutes at the most."

"Well," Yakko said sarcastically after a few minutes. "Thanks for waiting till everyone was conscious this time."

The man looked even more sheepish at that. Wakko glanced over at Dot to see if she was willing to fill in some of the blanks, but she was still glaring and didn't notice.

"All right," the reporter said. "If you want to stop, let me know."

Yakko nodded but kept his own frown. Wakko felt a little confused; this guy didn't seem bad to him. Either his siblings knew something he didn't or they were just still uneasy after… the accident.

"All right, now…" the man started. "From what I understand, the… er… perpetrator caused a, well, accident with your parents?"

Wakko winced at a sudden twinge of pain in his back, but he took a deep breath when he saw Yakko tense and nodded, pushing it back.

"All right," the reporter said. "I'm sorry. Why do you think it's been so long since he… came back?"

Dot huffed and crossed her arms.

"How should we know?" she snapped. "Maybe 'cause no one caught him?"

"Uh… all right…" the reporter said uneasily. "Now, I, er… I know this is difficult, but how were you separated during the attack?"

Wakko shivered, but before he could speak, Yakko suddenly leaped up, clenching his fists hard.

"How'd you know about that?" he demanded, almost snarling with anger. His siblings stared at him with shock as the reporter stumbled back a few steps.

"Y-Yakko…" Wakko stammered. "I-it's fine…"

He froze when his brother whirled around.

"No, it's not fine!" he snapped. "None of this is 'fine'! This isn't anyone else's business and I don't even know why I let this idiot in here!"

As he yelled, Dot whimpered and shrank back; Wakko slowly put an arm around her as he tried hard not to tremble himself. Yakko dropped off and his eyes went wide.

At that moment, the tower door slammed open and Kay was standing there, glaring fiercely at the reporter.

"What the hell are _**you**_ doing here?" she demanded.

Wakko stared at her; he had never heard her curse, or sound so angry. The man looked even more flustered.

"Well, I was told that…"

Kay marched up to him and clenched her fists.

"Did I or did I not tell you to come to _**me**_ when you wanted a comment? I believe those were my exact words and I don't remember ever saying otherwise!"

"Well, I… it's just my boss…"

"I couldn't care less about your boss!" Kay yelled. "What I care about is not dragging these kids any further into this than they already are! Do you understand me?"

She kept a venomous glare fixed on the reporter until he gulped and stepped backward.

"I, er… I'm very sorry," he said. "Sorry that I upset you."

After he all but ran out, Kay slowly turned and looked at the Warners.

"I… I'm sorry," she said softly, looking at the ground. "H-he wasn't supposed to come here… I don't know who told him it was okay."

Dot slipped off the couch and scurried out of the room. Kay watched her and sighed heavily.

"Well… I guess I should just go."

She turned to the door, but Wakko quickly stood up, holding back a wince.

"Wait…" he called. Kay hesitated and glanced back, looking as if she expected a reproach. Wakko quickly lost his train of thought and began shifting his feet uneasily. He wasn't sure what to say, but he didn't want her to leave so sad. Suddenly, Yakko stepped forward.

"Thanks," he said with a grateful smile.

Kay looked at them with surprise, and then smiled slightly before turning to leave. It was only a small one, but it was something. Maybe it was a start.

….

The reporter watched as the young detective walked toward the studio gate. He couldn't help shaking his head at the heaviness in her movements that clearly showed her sadness.

After she walked out, he took out a phone and dialed a number. He waited for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"Sir? Yes, I did get in, but I didn't get in all the questions that… What? Yes, sir… she was there."

….

Sinking… he was sinking. Everything was dark, black, suffocating. He kicked and clawed as hard as he could, but he didn't seem to be moving. His lungs were burning and heaviness was seeping into his mouth and nose.

He had to get to the surface, had to breathe, but it wasn't there. Everything was getting heavier, fading, hurting… too late… too late…

Yakko woke in a cold sweat, gasping desperately for air. Panting and shivering, he sat up and looked at his clock. 2:30.

He groaned softly and rubbed his eyes. Every night since they'd been home he'd had that dream, and each time it was more intense. As if his life wasn't enough of a mess already, with Kay still barely speaking to him and his siblings, the unspoken tension between him and Wakko, and Dot's growing suspicion. Now he had insomnia to worry about.

_Not to mention the psycho who's still chasing us._

With a heavy sigh, Yakko flopped back down on the bed. After a while, he glanced at the picture on his bedside table. It was the photo Kay gave them; the siblings had made three copies and each kept their own. A feeling of bitterness rose in him; because of one person's delusion, he'd lost his parents and had to raise his siblings when he was just a kid himself.

A great job he was doing now, too… first he lost track of his sister, than almost got his brother killed.

A sudden thud out in the hall stopped Yakko's thoughts, and he jumped up and hurried quietly out to the hall. His confusion immediately doubled when he saw a multicolored rubber ball near his door.

_What the…?_

As he went over to pick it up, he heard a rustling sound from Wakko's room… apparently he was awake too. Yakko began debating whether he should check it out or just leave him alone. Considering the poor results of his previous efforts, the latter was winning.

He was just about to turn back to his room when he heard a yelp from inside, followed by a thud. Immediately forgetting his worries, Yakko quickly opened the door and looked in. The bed was empty and a tangled mess. He suddenly remembered the last night at the hospital when Wakko woke up screaming and it had taken almost ten minutes to calm him down. Despite repeated attempts to get him to talk about it, he would only say it was a bad dream.

Yakko looked around the room as he walked in, looking for his brother. After a moment, his ears twitched and he looked back at the bed. Soft, tiny whimpers came from under it. Slowly, Yakko knelt and lifted the cover to find a small figure cowering underneath.

"Wak?" Yakko asked softly, reaching out. His brother instantly shrank back, clutching his knees even closer to his chest as he shook violently.

"D-d-don't hurt me!" he gasped, his eyes glazed and frantic. "Please don't hurt me!"

Yakko couldn't help wincing in shock at those words, but he gulped down the lump in his throat and reached out again.

"Wakko, it's okay!" he said urgently. "It's okay, it's me! You know me, don't you?"

Little by little, the wild look faded from his brother's eyes and he slowly looked up, still shaking.

"Y-Yakko?" he croaked. Yakko managed a smile and nodded.

"I'm here, kiddo," he said softly, reaching out his hand. "It's okay. Come on, it's okay."

After a moment, Wakko shakily reached out and grabbed his hand, crawling out from under the bed. But he looked even more upset than before.

"No, it's not…" he whimpered. "It… it's not okay. I… I…"

He looked down and began shuddering; Yakko reached out again, but Wakko suddenly looked up with red, dark-rimmed eyes.

"I'm sorry!"

He burst into tears and huddled in a heap on the floor. Despite his confusion, Yakko moved closer and began gently rubbing his back.

"Sorry for what?"

Wakko slowly looked up.

"It… it's my fault," he sniffled. "Y-you got mad cause that guy was a-asking about what happened, and it… was because I'm m-making things harder, right?"

Yakko frowned slightly as he tried to sort out the jumbled words.

"You thought I was mad at you?" he asked slowly.

Wakko nodded shakily.

"I m-made everything worse… l-like you said…"

His voice broke and he started crying again. Yakko felt his eyes well up as he took in those words.

"Oh, Wakko…"

He gently wrapped his arms around his brother and pulled him into his lap, rocking back and forth as tears ran down his own face.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry… I didn't mean it."

He went on cradling his younger sibling, but started to get worried when he just kept crying.

"Hey, come up for air, will ya?" Yakko said gently. As his brother started to calm down, he placed a hand under his chin and gently raised it.

"Wak, listen to me," he said. "It wasn't your fault this happened to you, and I don't want you ever thinking it was."

Wakko sniffled and looked up with watery eyes.

"So… you're not mad?" he hiccupped. Yakko ran a hand through his hair, unable to keep from smiling.

"Nah," he said softly. "But there is one thing I don't ever want you to do again."

"W-what?" Wakko asked, looking worried. Yakko hugged him tightly, being careful of his back.

"Scare me like that," he choked as tears streamed down his face. "I don't know what I'd do without such a great little brother."

After a moment, he felt Wakko press into his chest as he returned the hug.

"I'm sorry I yelled too," he sniffled.

Yakko felt his throat tighten and smiled sadly.

"It's okay, little sib," he said gently. "It's okay."

They both sat there for several minutes, not speaking, silently making up for every mistake and misunderstanding. After a while, a small yawn reached Yakko's ears and he smirked.

"Tired?"

Wakko shivered and Yakko saw him glance uneasily at his bed. He frowned slightly, and then patted his shoulder.

"Hey, want me to stay with ya?"

His brother looked up at him, then looked down and slowly nodded. Yakko smiled and hoisted him onto his back.

"Okay."

He walked the short distance to the bed and sat down, letting Wakko climb off his back before settling down beside him and pulling the covers over them both. His brother scooted closer.

"Yakko?"

Yakko smiled and placed an arm around his younger sibling.

"Yeah, Wak?"

Wakko laid his head on his shoulder and smiled slightly as he closed his eyes.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "You're the best big brother ever."

With those words, Yakko suddenly felt his doubts and tension suddenly fade away with a sense of deep relief. Maybe he was doing something right after all. He bit his lip and gently nuzzled the top of his brother's head as he drifted off to sleep; something that he hadn't done for years.

"Thanks, kiddo," he whispered. "Love ya."

Suddenly he heard the door open and looked up. Dot stood in the doorway, smirking as she tossed the rubber ball up and down. Yakko raised an eyebrow and smirked back before gesturing beside him. His sister quietly hurried to the bed and climbed up beside him.

"Couldn't ya wait till tomorrow?" Yakko asked softly. Dot smiled and snuggled up to him.

"And not get any sleep with you two kicking and screaming all night?" she whispered. "Don't think so."

Yakko stared at her, then smiled and put his other arm around her. As his eyes grew heavy, he heard Dot yawn.

"Y' know…" she said sleepily. "Maybe that's all she needs, too."

He blinked and looked at her. Somehow he knew she was talking about Kay.

"Need what?" he whispered.

"To talk," Dot mumbled. "Y' know… know we're not mad."

After a moment, Yakko grinned and stroked her shoulder.

"How'd my cute little sister get so grown up?"

Dot yawned and nestled closer, her head on his shoulder.

"Well, somebody has t' do the thinking," she said. "Now shut up and go to sleep."

Yakko smiled and gently kissed her forehead before settling with his siblings into their first peaceful sleep in days.

**Amen, it's finally finished! I'm terribly sorry for the long wait, but I'm nearing the end of the story and being especially careful with my writing. And of course, annoying RL stepped in. :P Hopefully, the next chapter will be up a little sooner. PLEASE REVIEW, and I apologize if this isn't very good. I'll see you all soon!**


	16. A New Day

The soft light of morning stretched across the Warner lot, shining on the water tower and illuminating the cheerful colors of the logo.

Inside, Dot stretched and yawned as she drifted out of the first truly sound sleep she'd had for a long time. Glancing beside her, she smiled. Yakko had an arm around Wakko, who was nestled up against his chest. Not wanting to wake them up, she carefully slipped out from under Yakko's other arm and crept back to her own room with a sense of satisfaction.

What would they do without me?

As she changed into one of her many pink outfits, Dot started thinking about Kay. Even if she still thought she shouldn't have lied, she couldn't help feeling sorry for her. With everything she'd been through, it was no wonder she must feel terrible. Dot wasn't very worried though… a good, long talk would no doubt fix it. And if she insisted on the silent treatment, Dot wasn't above giving her a little 'special friend' treatment.

The Warner sister hummed cheerfully as she skipped toward the kitchen. Things were looking up and could only get better.

…

Yakko drowsily opened his eyes and stretched his legs. He looked at the clock and saw that it was almost ten. Yawning, he glanced beside him; Wakko was still curled up against him, fast asleep. Yakko smiled and shifted the arm around his brother, gently ruffling his ears.

"C'mon, lumpy… up and at 'em."

"Mnh… five more hours…" Wakko mumbled before curling up tighter. Yakko smirked and patted his shoulder.

"Okay," he said casually. "Guess ya don't mind missing breakfast, then…"

Wakko instantly snapped awake, looking around groggily.

"Huh? Breakfast?"

Yakko chuckled and sat up.

"What d' ya know, it hears."

His brother glared at him as he rubbed his eyes.

"I'm hungry," he yawned.

Yakko rolled his eyes as he slid off the bed, but he was still smiling.

"Big surprise there," he said. "How about we try the waffles again?"

He grinned as Wakko perked up and jumped off after him with no sign of pain. When it came to his stomach, there wasn't much that got in his way. The two entered the kitchen and were surprised to find that Dot was already starting a second batch.

"What?" she snorted. "I think you made it pretty clear you can't do it."

Both grinned sheepishly as they headed over to help her. No one mentioned the previous night, but it was clear that the tension between them was gone. Soon their conversation began turning to Kay.

"What if she doesn't wanna talk?" Wakko asked between bites. "we might make her mad."

Dot rolled her eyes.

"She's never gotten mad at us," she said. "Besides, if she doesn't wanna talk, we'll just have to do some convincing."

"Yeah," Yakko cut in. "Maybe you can sing that 'cute' song… she'll say anything to stop that."

Dot pouted and scooped up another bite of her cereal as her brothers snickered.

"I can't help it if I'm cute," she huffed.

"Yeah, sure," Yakko replied. "Anyhow, I think we should try to catch her at the lot. I bet my charm in person'll help too."

Wakko let out a loud belch before smiling widely.

"Me too!"

"Boys," Dot muttered, frowning in disgust. Just then the phone rang; all three looked up at the same time.

"I'LL GET IT!"

They all instinctively jumped up, but Wakko quickly stopped and watched regretfully as his siblings battled their way to the phone.

"I never get to get it."

Yakko grabbed his sister's tail and pulled her back before snatching up the phone.

"Helloooo, nurse!" he said cheerfully as Dot sulked. Wakko walked over and patted her shoulder sympathetically, but then both noticed that their brother was frowning slightly as he listened to the phone. He noticed them watching and quickly resumed his grin.

"Sure, Scratchy… we'll be over in a bit."

Wakko and Dot watched curiously as he hung up.

"Well, sibs, looks like we've got an appointment."

Dot frowned as Wakko cocked his head.

"Appointment for what?" he asked uneasily.

Yakko looked him and shrugged, smiling reassuringly.

"Probably studio ordered counseling. Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've missed messing around with the good doc!"

Dot hopped up and down eagerly as Wakko grinned excitedly. Still, a very slight tingle of tension hung in his stomach. Taking a deep breath, he did his best to squash it down. If he didn't want to talk, they could just screw around like always. This was going to be cake; what could go wrong?

**A/N: I'm so very sorry for the long wait and short length, but I wanted to provide a light chapter after all the drama, and school finals and personal issues have bogged me down quite a bit lately. The next update may not be for a few weeks. But never fear, the story will go on and be completed, hopefully to everyone's satisfaction! Again, I apologize for the wait and if this was a disappointment in any way. See you all soon!**


	17. Missing

Dot had to admit; it was strangely nice to be back in the psychiatry building. After so much upheaval in their lives, it made things feel normal again. Once the trio entered the waiting room, her brothers jumped into the nurse's arms.

"Hellooooo nurse!"

"Didja miss me, huh?" Wakko asked, giving her a smacking kiss. On the other side, Yakko nuzzled against her neck.

"I don't know about you, but I think we got a _**lot**_ to catch up on," he said slyly.

Dot sighed and rolled her eyes.

_Things don't have to be that normal._

Showing remarkable patience, the nurse pried the boys away and set both on the ground, where they proceeded to fall face first to the floor with big dopey smiles.

"You can go in soon," she said. "Let me just see if Dr. Scratchansniff is ready."

As she went into the office, Dot walked up and pried Yakko and Wakko off the floor.

"Don't make me use the leashes again," she warned, making both wince.

"Hey, we can't help it if girls find us irresistible," Yakko said.

"Yeah, irresistibly annoying," Dot snorted. Both guys looked at each other.

"Jealous," Yakko said. Wakko nodded seriously. Finally, the door opened again and the nurse came back into the waiting room.

"All right," she said, looking unusually solemn. "Dr. Scratchansniff is ready for you."

Yakko wiggled his eyebrows at her as the siblings headed into the office.

"You look kinda down… maybe after this we can have our own little session."

Dot rolled her eyes, but was surprised when the nurse just gave him a small smile. Dot shrugged it off and followed her brothers into the psychiatry office.

"Hey Scratchy, long time no see!" Yakko said as they trotted over to the couch and took a seat.

"Did y' miss us?" Dot asked eagerly. Scratchansniff nodded a greeting to them and cleared his throat.

"It has been a while, yah?" he said uneasily. "I hope zis session was not an inconvenience, but I have received some news zat you should hear."

All three froze, eyes wide. After a moment, Dot took a deep breath and braced herself as Yakko spoke shakily.

"Justin Beiber won a Grammy?"

Instantly, Wakko snarled as his eyes started flaming.

"If they let him even _**touch**_ one…"

"Zey didn't," the doctor said quickly. "Zat's not vat I vas talking about."

All three let out a sigh of relief and sat back, waiting.

"Now zen, first of all I must ask if you have spoken to Ms. Nichols recently."

Dot pricked her ears at that.

"A bit yesterday," she said. Wakko sat up eagerly and chimed in.

"Is she here? She's been really sad but she's not talking, so we thought we'd see if we can pull her string."

"G'night, everybody!" Yakko said, making his brother chuckle as Dot sighed.

"Vell, no, she is not," Scratchy said slowly, looking very uncomfortable. Suddenly unnerved by his tone, Dot glanced at her brothers; Yakko shrugged and looked back at the doctor, who sighed heavily.

"I'm afraid no von has heard from her since yesterday. Her friends vere hoping she had contacted you."

Dot felt a sudden knot of nervousness form in her stomach; her rational side told her that it wasn't that strange for a grown woman to get so busy she might forget to call someone, but she couldn't imagine Kay doing something like that. She looked over at her brothers, who looked equally startled and, to her greater worry, troubled.

"She… she's missing?" Wakko asked softly, his eyes wide. On hearing that, Dot immediately spoke up.

"So what's that mean?" she asked anxiously. "Do we need to answer questions or talk about it, or…"

Scratchansniff quickly shook his head and raised a hand to stop her.

"No, no… wiz everything zat has happened, no von vants to push you until they can start looking. I vill let you know if nothing happens by tonight…"

At that, Dot jumped to her feet, starting to get angry.

"So if something's wrong, no one's gonna be doing anything?" she demanded. "What kind of cops are these guys?"

Scratchy gulped and started twiddling his fingers uneasily.

"Vell, er, zer are rules about zese things, and she cannot be considered missing until no von has heard has heard from her by a certain time. But please do not vorry, yah? I'm sure she vill contact someone."

"Great," Dot grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring. "Tell them thanks for nothing."

"C'mon, Dot... it's not that bad. Besides, she'll show up… she probably outgrew running away about ten years ago."

The Warner sister looked up in surprise as Yakko spoke.

"Now zen… is zere anything you vant to talk about?" Scratchy said, no doubt trying to add some normalcy to the session. Dot kept frowning at Yakko, who looked over at Wakko. Not surprisingly, he shook his head.

"Can we just go home?" he asked, his voice a little tight. Dot glanced at him in concern before glaring back at Yakko, who ruffled his brother's cap.

"Sure," he said. "We can annoy Ralph on the way."

Dot couldn't stop staring at him; he seemed so calm about the whole thing. She glared again and was about to shoot that question at him when he gave her a stern look that clearly told her to be quiet. So she satisfied herself with letting out a huff and pouting at him as he thanked Scratchy, though for what she couldn't imagine, deciding she'd chew him out later.

…

Yakko had had a feeling he was going to end up in a tight spot the minute Scratchy called them in… call it older sibling instinct… but he didn't expect this. Now he was between a rock and a hard place, trying to dodge his sister's attempts at interrogating him for things he didn't know and being encouraging to her and Wakko when he was still trying to wrap his own mind around it. And of course, he was really worried about Kay and just as impatient to find out what was going on.

_Another week like this and I'm gonna have gray hair before I'm eighteen._

"Why can't they look and see if she's okay?" Dot was at it again. Yakko sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Look, I told you I only know what you know," he replied, trying to keep his patience.

"But I don't know anything," his sister whined. Yakko shrugged.

"There ya go."

Dot glared up at him for a few minutes before she huffed and stomped toward the living room, undoubtedly to start an argument with Wakko over the remote. Despite sympathizing with his brother, Yakko sighed in relief that her complaining wouldn't be directed at him for a while. It could be a good distraction, but even his patience was limited.

Yakko started thinking about Kay, wondering what happened. He was hoping that she was just upset and had taken off for a little bit, trying not to think about the possibility that she was hurt or in trouble. The sound of the phone ringing jarred him alert.

"I'll get it!" came the yell from the living room, but Yakko picked it up before his siblings reached the room.

Dot crossed her arms and started tapping her foot as her oldest brother turned his back, listening into the phone. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wakko watching just as intently with huge eyes.

"Oh…" she heard Yakko say, and her stomach started to swirl at the tone of his voice.

"Okay… thanks, Scratchy. See ya."

Slowly, he hung up the phone and turned, his ears drooping.

"She's missing," he said quietly.

Dot felt tears suddenly fill her eyes as her throat tightened. Thoughts started racing through her mind of what might have happened. Was she lost? Hurt? In trouble? If she wasn't, why wouldn't she at least let them know?

A groan suddenly reached her ears and she looked over beside her. Wakko was hunched over, holding his back and breathing heavily. Alarmed, she hurried over and grabbed his arm.

"Yakko!"

Her oldest brother looked up and immediately ran over too.

"Wak? What's wrong?"

Wakko winced and looked up, his eyes dull and brimming with tears.

"I don't… feel so good…"

Before either of his siblings knew what was happening, his legs gave out and he collapsed in a dead faint.

**A new chapter to celebrate the end of the school quarter! Sorry for the wait and if this is disappointing. And don't worry about Wakko… it just hit him harder because he's not fully recovered and for another reason that will be revealed in the next chapter. Thank you all for your continued support, and again I hope this wasn't a disappointment. God Bless!**


	18. A Promise

_The uproar was difficult for a four-year-old mind to wrap around, but Wakko was able to tell that something bad had happened. A few hours after their parents had gone out, loud people in blue had suddenly burst into the house and said that they'd had an accident. Now they'd been in this strange building for even longer and no one was telling them anything. _

_Wakko knew that an accident meant running into something, but if his mom and dad ran into something, where were they now and why were these strangers yelling at him and his siblings? When people yelled, that usually meant they were mad. But he couldn't remember doing anything wrong… well, other than spilling juice on the rug this morning, but no one seemed very upset about that. Finally, Wakko went over to where Yakko was sitting with their little sister, trying to distract her. His brother would know what was going on, he knew everything._

"_Yakko?" he asked softly, tugging his sleeve. "Are we in trouble?_

_Yakko looked over at him; the brief unease in his face was quickly replaced with a reassuring smile._

"_We're not in trouble, bud," he said. Wakko felt relieved for a minute, but then another fear came to his mind._

"_Are Mom and Dad coming soon?"_

_He didn't miss the fear on his brother's face before he quickly smiled again._

"_Count on it. Trust me, we'll be eating marshmallows in front of the TV and laughing about this before ya know it."_

_Wakko couldn't help smiling at that and sat down beside his siblings. He kept telling himself to believe it, but Yakko's hidden anxiety and the barely concealed worry everyone was looking at them with was making it less than easy. Finally, the doorknob clicked and all three immediately looked up._

_A female toon in one of those blue uniforms came in; she was smiling, but it was easy to see that she was sad._

"_Hi, kids," she said gently. "I'm sorry we scared you, but there wasn't time to explain about the accident."_

"_What're you talking about?" Yakko asked, frowning at her as Dot clung to his neck with wide eyes. "Where's Mom and Dad?"_

_The toon woman sighed heavily and knelt down so she met their eye level._

"_Honey…" she said softly. "It was a bad accident."_

_Wakko tried hard to understand as the woman continued, wrapping his head around familiar words. Died… he knew what death was. His dad explained it once when he found a bird that hit the window. But then… why was she talking about their parents too, and an accident? Wakko suddenly started feeling even more afraid as the words slowly linked together and looked over at Yakko. When he saw his brother's face, the truth was clear._

_Because of this accident, their parents were gone… and they weren't coming back. _

_Shaking, Wakko hugged his knees and began rocking back and forth. _

"_Mama…" he whimpered, then froze as he realized what he'd said. His mother couldn't come ease his fear anymore. Neither could his father. They would never come again._

_At that thought, the tears came and Wakko buried his head in his arms. He faintly heard Yakko struggling not to cry as Dot asked questions in a small voice. Even with all the people around him, he had never felt so alone. _

_Everything was gone… everyone… everyone keeps leaving me…_

…

"Aah!" Wakko gasped as he jolted awake, then groaned and clutched his head at a familiar jab of pain and dizziness. When his head finally cleared, he sat on the side of his bed and rubbed his forehead. He hadn't woken up like this since he was five.

"Thanks for sparing me another heart attack."

Wakko jumped and turned; Yakko was standing in his doorway, smirking tiredly. He smiled back sheepishly, but before he could answer Dot suddenly pushed her way in, glaring fiercely.

"You bonehead!" she snapped. "You scared me!"

Wakko tried hard not to roll his eyes as he consigned himself to the scolding that followed. Both him and Yakko had figured out a long time ago it was better to just let her blow off the steam. But to his surprise, she suddenly stopped her rant after a few minutes and looked down.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. Wakko cocked his head in confusion.

"What?"

His sister peeked back up at him.

"You're sad," she said. Following her look, Wakko lifted a hand to his cheek and found that the fur was still wet. Swiping his eyes, he quickly grinned at her.

"Nah, I'm fine… my back just hurts."

To his relief Dot patted his head sympathetically, not pushing for details. But when he looked over at Yakko, he was met with an extremely skeptical look. Of course he wouldn't believe that; he'd seen this before. Surprisingly, he just raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you did face plant on the floor a while ago," he said teasingly. "Guess our sister sibling's drama is rubbing off on ya."

Wakko couldn't help grinning as Dot pouted.

"Did not!" she complained. "I'm the dramatic one here and don't you forget it!"

Yakko rolled his eyes as his sister gave Wakko a quick hug and flounced out of the room. After she was out of earshot, he walked over and sat beside his brother.

"Doing okay, sib?" he asked softly. Wakko looked up and gave him a half smirk.

"Hungry," he said hoarsely. Yakko couldn't help chuckling and lifted his brother's cap off the nearby table, handing it to him.

"I'll call the pizza guy."

He hopped off the bed and headed for the door, but a small voice stopped him.

"Yakko…"

He turned; Wakko was still sitting there, slowly turning his hat in his hands. After a moment, he looked up with sad, worried eyes.

"She… she _**is**_ gonna come back, right?"

At those words, Yakko felt a stab of worry for Kay, but he quickly pushed it back and walked back over to his brother, picking up the hat and placing it on his head.

"Don't worry about it," he said, smiling. "If ya remember, she takes care of herself pretty good."

Wakko grinned at that and Yakko grinned back as he ruffled his cap.

"It's gonna be okay," he said. "Really."

Wakko smiled slightly and held out his pinky finger.

"You promise?"

Without hesitation, Yakko smiled back and linked his own finger. Even if he wasn't sure how, things were going to be okay. They had to be.

"Promise."

**A/N: Finally! Ugh, it figures that when I'd have a week to work on this story, I get that nasty old writer's block! It looks like Kay's disappearance has hit somewhere deep, hasn't it? I apologize for the long wait, and if this rather short chapter was disappointing in any way. There may be no more than four chapters left, so thank you all for your continuing support and I'll do my best not to disappoint you. God Bless!**


	19. Bug Eyes on the Spot

Dot huffed angrily as she stormed out of Scratchy's office.

"Okay, what did that do for anything?" she snapped. "All they did was ask the same questions a bunch of times!"

Yakko sighed, not looking much happier.

"To tell ya the truth, ah… I have no idea."

As they headed back out, Dot glanced behind them; Danny was talking to one of the officers. Her throat tightened when she saw the crushed look on his face, and she couldn't help feeling worse for not knowing anything. Letting out another sigh, she followed her brother onto the lot.

As they headed for the tower, Yakko kept looking around. He was trying to look casual, but Dot could feel his tension as he held her hand. When they reached the tower, he stopped at the bottom of the ladder and let her go up first as usual. But as she headed up, she noticed that instead of following right behind he was hanging back, still looking around. She sighed heavily and continued up into the tower.

_This officially stinks._

Inside, she walked over to the couch, but soft snoring and a pair of ears sticking out from under a blanket was the only indication someone was there. Dot smirked as she sat down.

"Nice to know you're having a productive day."

Yakko climbed in and walked over to the couch with a smile. As he sat down by his brother, he couldn't help noticing the small whimpering sounds he was letting out every so often. Dot was pretending not to hear, but Yakko could see her occasional sideways glances. After a while, there was a soft groan and Wakko poked his head out, perking up slightly when he saw them.

"How'd it go?" he asked groggily. Yakko hesitated for a moment, trying to think of the best way to answer without making it sound like more bad news.

"Ah… pretty much like our usual appointment, except there was a cop glaring at us."

Wakko smirked at that, but his smile quickly faded as he winced. Yakko frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked. Wakko nodded.

"Yeah… it just hurts again."

Yakko smiled sympathetically.

"You better take some painkillers," he said. Wakko immediately scowled, making Dot roll her eyes. but instead of the anticipated argument, he just sighed.

"If I have to."

As Dot stared at her brother, Yakko just grinned and hopped up.

"Ah, c'mon," he said. "At least ya don't have to take a shot. Be right back."

The minute he left, Dot crossed her arms and glared at Wakko.

"Okay, that's it. What's up with you?" she demanded. He looked at her incredulously.

"Huh? What?"

"You cry when you think no one's looking, talk in your sleep, and you're not such a total pain," Dot replied. "I notice stuff, ya know."

Wakko stared at her for a while, then started fiddling uneasily with the blanket.

"Well, uh… I… it's not a big deal…"

Dot huffed impatiently.

"Oh, knock it off! I don't care what you say, something's bothering you, and you better spit it out right now, mister!"

After several awkward moments, Wakko let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine," he said, but instead of his usual sulking tone it was dull and sad. He slowly pulled the blanket closer around him and looked down.

"I miss them," he mumbled sadly. Dot frowned slightly and moved a little closer.

"You mean Mom and Dad?" she asked quietly. Her brother nodded slightly, then his eyes welled and he pulled the blanket back over his head.

"Nobody else knows what to do," he said in a tiny voice.

Dot felt her throat tighten at that as her own worries and frustrations began welling up again. The questioning earlier had been completely pointless, and she had caught herself wanting to talk to their parents about it. One of the few things she remembered about them was that they always seemed to know what to say.

He's right, she thought. Kay's been gone almost two days and nobody knows anything. How're they gonna find her?

At a sound on the doorway, both looked up as Yakko came back in. The sad look on his face showed that he must have been listening. He walked over, grinning slightly.

"Wow. I leave for five minutes and now I've got two bummed sibs. Guess that speaks for my charm."

Dot immediately rolled her eyes as her brother took a seat beside her and Wakko, who was poking his head out from the blanket. Yakko smirked at him.

"So, got something on your mind or is it just cold in here?"

Dot smiled sadly as Wakko looked down.

"Why ask me?" he mumbled. "You were listening."

"The correct term is 'eavesdropping'," Yakko replied. "Look, sibs… I know today was pretty much a bust."

"Duh," Dot snorted, earning a look from her oldest brother before he continued.

"But we're Warners, right? And what do Warners do when things are a bust?"

Wakko and Dot looked at each other, than back.

"Make fun of teen sitcoms?"

"Make faces at anyone wearing yellow?"

Yakko sighed and shook his head.

"No," he said, then smirked and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"We take 'em into our own hands."

Dot looked over at Wakko, and both grinned at the same time as they came to the same conclusion.

"The nosy guy with the dumb glasses?" she asked. Yakko grinned evilly.

"Indeed, sister sibling. Unfortunately for him, Bug Eyes let it slip that he knows a little more than he should."

Dot smirked at Wakko, who did the same. She was looking forward to the prospect of having someone to work over, but she couldn't help feeling a little confused. How was Yakko so sure that the reporter knew something? She knew that it had something to do with whatever happened in the lot, but not much more than that.

Well, maybe she'd find out when they 'talked' to the guy.

…

A few hours and phone calls later, Bug Eyes showed up at the tower in record time… and immediately regretted it. The minute he stepped in the door, he suddenly found himself on one side of an interrogation table with a light in his face and three young toons glaring at him from the other side.

"Look, I've told you before!" he said, gulping nervously. "I only ask what my boss tells me! I don't know anything about what happened to your friend!"

"Oh, really?" Yakko said, tapping his finger on the table. "Well, in that case…"

He suddenly leaned across the table, his eyes narrowed.

"Where were you on the night of October 12th, 1931?"

"I-I wasn't even born then!"

Dot jumped up in front of the man and poked his chest.

"Sir, do you own a blue Prius?"

Bug Eyes stared at her in shock.

"What?"

Wakko jumped up beside her and pushed his face almost right up against his.

"Mister, did you…?"

He blinked a few times, and then crinkled his nose.

"… Eat onions?"

By now, Bug Eyes was clearly completely baffled.

"Well, I… the… What?"

Dot smacked the table and jumped down.

"All right, sounds like a confession to me! Book 'im!"

The man jumped up frantically.

"No, wait!" he yelled. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know!"

Yakko smirked and sat back, crossing his arms.

"Alrighty, then," he said smugly. "Who's your boss and where is he?"

The man gulped and wiped his forehead as he sat back down. After this, he decided, he was putting in for a transfer to New York.

**Ugh… You have no idea what I went through with this chapter. Another attack of writer's block combined with school and personal issues with which I won't bore you made it a nightmare! I hope you enjoyed this, and that the little interrogation scene provided a laugh. That was my first try at one of their mind tricks, so sorry if it fell short. There's not much further left to go in the story, three chapters at the most, so updates may be slow as I am being especially careful with my writing. Hopefully none will be this slow, though. Again, I'm very, very sorry for the long wait and if the chapter was a disappointment. See you all soon!**


	20. All For One & One For All

"So what're we doing next? What're we doing now?"

Wakko rolled his eyes and tried to ignore Dot as she eagerly hopped up and down, keeping his attention on Yakko. Bug Eyes had finally told them about the man who hired him: someone called Mr. Rosen. He also admitted that he suspected the man knew more than he should, but was obviously too scared to tell anyone.

"Are we gonna tell Scratchy?" Wakko asked. "The police people?"

To his surprise, Yakko just kept pacing with a thoughtful frown.

"I don't know…" he said. Wakko frowned, but before he could say anything, Dot piped up.

"What d' you mean?" she demanded. "Aren't you supposed to do that? If that Rose Hip guy did something to Kay we should say something so they can go get her back!"

Yakko finally stopped pacing and glanced at her.

"Haven't y' seen any crime dramas? The first thing the cops do is go ask questions, and the guy knows they're on to him. "

Wakko felt a slight wave of unease, but cocked his head in confusion.

"What?" he asked.

Yakko looked at him for a moment, and then sighed.

"It's just… he might hurt her."

At those words, Wakko swayed on his feet and closed his eyes, trying to fight back another dizzy attack. Yakko quickly stopped.

"Wak, you okay?"

Despite his lightheadedness, Wakko quickly straightened up and nodded.

"But we gotta do something!" he exclaimed. His brother rubbed his neck and frowned thoughtfully.

"Yeah…" he muttered, then grinned slightly. "Well, maybe we can put what Bug Eyes told us to use."

Wakko looked at Dot, then both looked at Yakko expectantly.

"We're gonna spy?" Dot asked eagerly.

Yakko smirked and nodded.

"Indeed, sister sibling. We know where to go, so I say a good old-fashioned stakeout's in order."

His siblings grinned happily.

"So you got a plan?" Dot asked. Yakko puffed out his chest.

"Hey, you know you're talking to your genius big brother, right? I always do."

Wakko rolled his eyes, but listened closely as Yakko continued.

"Okay, if we all leave, someone's gonna figure it out. So…"

"Well, how're we supposed to do anything if we can't leave?" Dot demanded. Yakko began to look uneasy.

"Uh, I was saying we can't all leave."

Taking a deep breath, he continued.

"So, here's what we're gonna do. I go scope it out, you guys cover for me."

Wakko had a feeling that his startled look matched his sister's. Was their brother really telling them that he was going to chase after someone who might be a complete psycho, alone?

"Are you off your rocker?" Dot demanded. "You wanna go catch a whack job while we wait on the side?"

Yakko rubbed his neck and sighed.

"That's not what I…"

Wakko clenched his fists.

"We want to help too!" he said fiercely. "Why should we just sit here and wait?"

His eyes widened as Yakko whirled around and glared at him.

"Because! Just let it go and listen to me for once!" he snapped.

Startled and a little unnerved by the sudden anger, Wakko took a step back and watched as Yakko stormed out of the room. When his door slammed, the two younger siblings looked at each other for several moments. Both nodded in silent agreement and slowly headed toward the hall. Dot slowly pushed open the door to Yakko's room and both peeked in. He was sitting on the bed with his back to them, giving no sign of hearing anything.

Suddenly uneasy, Wakko stood where he was. He wasn't the best person to handle situations like this anytime, and especially not now. He'd probably just mess everything up even more.

A hand slipped into his, making him jump slightly. He glanced beside him to find Dot looking up at him expectantly. She had a look of trust that she'd never directed at him before. Wakko gave her a little smile before he took a deep breath and stepped in the room with Dot following. Yakko's ears twitched, but he didn't turn. Wakko walked up to the bed and gently tapped his brother's arm.

"Yakko?" he asked softly. "Are you okay?"

Yakko looked at him with surprise before letting out a heavy sigh.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have yelled."

After a moment, Dot climbed up beside him.

"It's okay," she said. "But we want to help."

Yakko immediately stiffened, then gulped.

"It… it's not…"

He broke off and placed his head in his hand. Wakko glanced at Dot, and then climbed up on the other side. Yakko took a deep breath and looked up with brimming eyes.

"I already almost lost one of you. You're really asking me to risk that again?"

Wakko felt a lump rise in his throat and looked down at his hands, suddenly feeling ashamed for not considering how his brother must have been feeling. After a moment, Dot spoke up.

"And you're asking us to let you walk into possible danger alone? No way."

"But I…" Yakko said. Dot glared and poked his chest.

"Don't you 'but I' us, mister."

Wakko nodded, grinning slightly.

"If you go, we go too," he said. "Whether you say no or not."

Yakko stared at him for a minute, then a slight grin tugged at his face.

"How'd you get so stubborn?" he asked softly. Wakko grinned back and shrugged.

"I learned from the best."

His brother chuckled and looked down for a few minutes. Finally he sighed again and looked up.

"You swear that you'll do whatever I say, no matter what?"

Both siblings grinned drew X's on their chests.

"Cross our hearts, hope to die, stick a 2B in our eye," Dot said. Yakko smiled and pulled them both into a hug.

"And stay safe… both of you," he said.

"Only if you do too," Wakko said.

"Deal."

After a while, the three drew apart. Yakko straightened up and looked at Wakko.

"You gonna be okay, sib?" he asked.

Wakko looked at him, then at Dot. Both were looking at him with worried and strangely serious looks. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'll be really careful," he said. "I'm okay."

Yakko looked at him with that strange look for a few more moments, then smiled and nodded. Looking from him to Dot, he held out a hand.

"All for one…"

Wakko gave him a goofy grin and added his hand.

"And one for all," he said. Dot giggled excitedly and placed hers on top of theirs.

"Times three!"

Yakko grinned widely, more than he had in a long time.

"Okay, sibs," he said. "Let's go find her."

**A/N: This update marks the end of my first day at 22 years old! I promised myself I would get it done by then and I actually did it! YAAAY! Warners going into spy mode… what could be better? Only a few more chapters left; will they find Kay? Will the toon hater finally be brought to justice? We'll soon know. I apologize if this chapter was disappointing in any way, and I will see you all next time! God Bless!**


	21. Mission Warner-Possible

"Atteeeen SHUN!"

As both his siblings stood at attention and saluted, Yakko paced in front of them with an army helmet.

"All right, troops… we've taken on missions like this before, but this is a very exceptional case. Not only are we facing a possible rescue, but we might also be dealing with a homicidal nut job. Therefore, we're going to be following some rules, got it?"

"Sir, yes sir!" both chorused.

"A' right then," Yakko said. "First, we avoid a fight at all costs. We're in this mess deep already."

Wakko and Dot nodded, looking uneasy. Yakko hesitated and smiled at them before continuing his pacing.

"Second and most important, we stick together no matter what. This is the only lead we've got, so let's milk it for all it's worth! We are Warners, and what do we do?"

"Meddle!" Wakko and Dot said, grinning widely. Their brother stopped and grinned back.

"Bingo. Let's do it!"

His siblings saluted and all three headed across the lot, side by side. When they got close to the wall, all three ducked behind a parked car. Since the shooting, there were many more guards there, all considerably smarter than Ralph. Yakko tried not to show his growing nervousness, but he couldn't stop his stomach from turning. He swallowed hard as he tried to control it, but when he glanced at his siblings, they were both looking back at him expectantly. He took a deep breath and reached into his hammerspace, pulling out a toon hole. There was no turning back now.

Being as quiet as he could, Yakko slapped the black circle against the nearby wall. All three winced at the snapping sound it made, but there was no sign of anyone hearing. After a quick look around, Yakko jumped through first and watched for trouble as his siblings followed. Once they were all through they took off, stopping about a block away from the lot. Yakko looked back to make sure no one followed them, then pulled out a map.

"Looks like we're heading… this way."

As they continued on, the residential areas began to thin out, increasing the sense of unease all three felt. Finally, they reached the address Bug Eyes gave them.

"Ew," Dot said.

She had a point, Yakko had to admit. If the building wasn't abandoned, it was certainly a dump. Even more unnerving, it was big… almost a warehouse. Going through this place was definitely going to take a while.

"So what's the plan?" Dot asked. Yakko pushed down his unease and grinned.

"We go in and we snoop till we find something. And if someone jumps us…"

He pulled out his mallet and swung it.

"We give 'im a crack in the melon and run. So there y' go: simple, easy to remember."

As Yakko put his mallet back, he noticed Wakko sway slightly on his feet as he caught his breath.

"Wakko, you okay?"

His brother took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, just kinda tired."

Yakko frowned and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"You sure you can do this? I mean… you haven't gotten much rest."

He braced himself for an angry retort, but to his surprise Wakko just gave him a slight smile.

"Yakko, I'm okay," he said. "I promise."

Yakko couldn't hold back a proud smile.

"Okay, sib," he said. "But tell me right away if you start feeling sick again. It's gonna be kinda hard to pull this off if one of us passes out in the middle of it."

His brother smirked and shrugged off the hand.

"Noted. Can we go now?"

Yakko smirked back and nodded.

"All righty then… let's get in."

Keeping quiet, all three snuck around the building.

"What're we looking for?" Dot whispered. Yakko hesitated by the wall and tapped it.

"Hole in the wall, open window or something."

"Why don't we try the door?" she asked. "If the place is as dumpy as it looks, you can probably bust right in."

Yakko rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Yeah, that's what you do in the spy business… go smashing in the front door. That won't blow your cover."

His sister pouted.

"I was just trying to help," she muttered. "Jerk."

"Priss," he shot back.

Suddenly Wakko spoke up.

"Hey, look at this."

Yakko looked over just in time to see his tail slip through a gap in some boards.

"Wait up!" he called as he and Dot followed. After they slipped through he found his brother grinning goofily on the other side.

"I found it!" he said proudly. Yakko smirked and ruffled his cap, glad to see more of his old spirit.

"Nice going, bud. C'mon, sibs… stick close."

With Wakko and Dot following, he slowly moved further into the room. It was dark, but not so dark that they couldn't see it was empty. The floor creaked slightly with their footsteps, but other than that there was no other sound. After going through a nearby door, they found themselves in another, much larger room. judging from the piles of boxes half covered with dusty old sheets, the building had been a storage area of some kind.

"Ugh… this guys definitely nuts if he lives here," Dot muttered. "It's like a scene from The Human Centipede."

Yakko immediately stopped and stared at her.

"When did you watch that?"

His sister bit her lip uneasily and looked away quickly. Yakko squinted at her as Wakko tried to stifle a laugh.

"Looks like we're gonna have something to talk about later," Yakko said. "Well, we better look around. Keep it quiet and be quick."

With that, all three started poking around the space, making sure to stay only a short distance from each other. After several moments Yakko started to think that maybe they weren't on to something after all. That dumb reporter would probably be suspicious of his own feet. He sighed heavily as he knocked on a crate.

"Well, looks like we might be on a wild goose chase here, sibs."

Dot came plodding over, looking equally crestfallen.

"What're we gonna do now?" she asked in a small voice. Yakko was about to reply when he noticed something.

"Wait, where's Wakko?"

Dot's eyes instantly widened and they immediately started looking around.

"I'm gonna kill him," Yakko growled. "I said not to run off, and he just… I swear, that kid…"

He instantly stopped when they rounded a corner. His brother stood frozen to one spot, staring at an open box. As they got closer, Yakko saw that he was shaking. Frowning, he reached out and lightly touched his shoulder.

"Hey," he said softly. Wakko didn't answer, but kept staring, his eyes stretched wide. He looked completely terrified. Yakko followed his gaze, and his stomach heaved into his throat. Inside the box was a toon gun; one that he would recognize as long as he lived.

"It… he's…" Wakko choked, then started gasping. Tearing his eyes off the box, Yakko quickly knelt down and pulled his brother into a hug, turning his head away from it.

"Shh," he whispered, stroking Wakko's back as he whimpered into his chest. "It's okay, buddy. We'll get back and…"

Wakko immediately pulled away, shaking his head.

"No!" he said shakily. "She… she might be here too!"

Dot clenched her fists, looking both angry and scared.

"Do you wanna get shot again?" she hissed. Wakko shuddered, but she went on. "We gotta get help! That guy almost…"

"Dot!" Yakko snapped. His sister glared at him fiercely before whirling around and kicking the wall. Her brothers gasped as a panel popped open and she stumbled, falling out of sight. They ran over to find some stairs dropping steeply down into a dark space and slid down.

"Dot?" Yakko called softly. "You okay, sis?"

He sighed in relief as her voice came from somewhere ahead.

"I'm okay… and you're welcome for finding the door."

Both guys rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, thanks a lot… now how about finding a light switch?" Yakko muttered. A rustling sound came from beside him and Wakko spoke.

"Hey… I think I found one."

There was a click, then a light flickered on. It was dim, but after being in pitch dark, it was enough to be blinding.

"You're welcome!" Wakko said cheerfully. Yakko rubbed his eyes, but before either him or Dot could reply, another voice came from behind them… one that made all three freeze instantly.

"What are you doing here?"

A/N: Yes, I'm back! Inspiration finally hits and I don't get time to write till now! Schoolwork and junk, finals coming up :P Bet you're wondering just who spoke, hmmm? Well you'll find out…. NEXT CHAPTER! MUAH HAHAHA! 'ahem' Excuse me. See you all soon, and apologies if the chapter was a disappointment. God Bless! :D


	22. Reunited

All three Warners stood frozen to the spot, eyes wide. After a few moments, the voice came again.

"W-what are you doing here?"

All at the same time, the trio slowly turned. Their eyes simultaneously fell on a small, barred off corner and the figure huddled by the wall.

"Kay!"

They all sprinted across the floor and leaped through the bars, hugging her tightly. The young woman gasped, then slowly returned their embrace, but she was trembling slightly and her body was strangely warm. Yakko took a closer look and his eyes went wide. Kay's face was bruised and pale, her eyes dull with exhaustion, and dried blood crusted a large cut on her forehead.

"How… how did you…?" she asked hoarsely, her eyes brimming. Dot picked up a strand of her hair and smiled.

"I can smell bad hair care a mile away," she said. "Still not conditioning, huh?"

Kay let out a raspy chuckle, but her eyes suddenly became frantic.

"You have to get out of here!" she gasped. "He could b-be back any minute!"

Wakko tugged her arm.

"Then c'mon! We came to get ya out!"

Kay groaned sharply and clutched her other hand to her shoulder. Wakko instantly let go and held his hands away, as if afraid just touching her would hurt.

"What… what'd I do?"

"N-nothing…" she grunted, breathing heavily. "It's just my shoulder… I th-think something's twisted bad."

Yakko placed a hand on her arm, his siblings watching anxiously. Finally, Kay took a deep breath and coughed before looked up again.

"P-please, just go! Call the police… I'll be fine!"

The siblings looked at each other, then nodded all at the same time.

"Okay, we're going…" Yakko said. Kay smiled slightly, but it quickly dropped as he and Dot each took one of her arms.

"But only if you come too," Dot said. Kay immediately opened her mouth to protest, but another cough stopped her. Trying not to show his growing worry, Yakko gently patted her arm.

"Cough all ya want on the way, but we gotta get going."

Kay smiled weakly at him.

"I suppose you're not moving unless I come?"

At the nod, she took a deep breath and slowly pushed herself up on one knee, then started to get to her feet. Her face grew even paler and she bit her lip hard, but didn't cry out.

"D-do you know… how to get this open?" she asked, leaning against the bars. "I tried… picking it, but it just doesn't work."

Yakko looked at Dot in confusion, then noticed Wakko slipping through and looking at the lock on the door.

"It's toon," he said. Yakko frowned; whoever this psycho was, he clearly had easy access to toon items.

"Okay, ladies…" he said, hiding his unease. "Observe how men handle this."

Kay glanced at Dot, who rolled her eyes. Yakko slipped through the bars to join his brother and reached into his hammerspace, pulling out a blowtorch. As the others shielded their eyes he fired it up and went to work. Several tense moments passed, the hissing of the melting lock seeming to echo ominously in the dark space. After what felt like hours the half melted lock fell to the ground and Yakko pulled open the door. Kay immediately hurried out, Dot close beside her, but her heavy limp and tightly clenched jaw revealed the pain in every step. The Warners slowed their own pace to match hers, despite her constant protests.

"Please!" she said hoarsely. "I can get out of here on my own, but I'll slow you down! If that… _**monster**_ comes back…"

Almost the minute she spoke, a thudding sound came from the floor above and she froze. The thudding came again and terror filled her face.

"Oh no…" she whispered, then pulled Yakko's arm. "Run!"

His heart pounding, Yakko grabbed his sibling's hands and followed her as she ran away from the stairs and further into the basement. Her limp grew even heavier as they moved, until they reached another storage room. Kay ducked behind a pile of boxes and pulled them with her, motioning for them to be quiet. Dot whimpered softly and pressed into Yakko's chest as the distant sound of footsteps grew louder; trying hard not to shake, he hugged her close. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kay wrap her arms around Wakko. Suddenly there was a loud curse followed by a clang. Kay tensed and clenched her fists, but the footsteps raced away and pounded up the stairs. Still holding his trembling sister, Yakko couldn't stop his voice from shaking as he spoke.

"Who… who is that guy?"

"I don't know," Kay whispered. "He always wears a hooded coat so I can't see his face, and I didn't recognize his voice. But… I don't know, I still feel like I should know him somehow…"

Yakko frowned, but before he could ask what she meant, Kay began vigorously massaging her left ankle. She clenched her teeth and grunted softly before speaking.

"He doesn't know you're here, so I'm the one he's after right now. I'm gonna lead him to the other side of the place. While I do, I want you to get out of here and wait for me outside. If I'm not there in five minutes, get back home and call for help."

Yakko saw the alarm in his sibling's eyes and quickly spoke.

"But we…"

To his shock, Kay glared at him.

"No," she hissed. "There's no time to argue. You get out of here, do you understand?"

Her severe, frantic look made Yakko suddenly feel very small. Timidly, he glanced down and nodded. A hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up to see Kay smiling gently at him and his siblings.

"Don't worry about me, okay? Everything's going to be be fine."

She gave all three a quick hug before she stood and hurried away, her limp not as heavy but still prominent. Keeping his ears pricked, Yakko placed an arm around his brother and sister; he could feel them trembling with the same barely suppressed fear he was feeling. After a moment, shouting and fast pounding came from upstairs, heading toward the other side of the building. The Warners immediately leaped up and took off the way they'd come, back through the basement and up the stairs.

Yakko kept an ear trained on Kay's distant voice as the yelling continued, but his attention was quickly drawn to his brother when he suddenly stopped running and stumbled to one knee, breathing heavily. Yakko and Dot immediately hurried to his side to help.

"I-I'm okay…" Wakko panted hoarsely. Yakko gently took his arm to help him up, trying hard to stay calm.

"C'mon, kiddo… not much further now."

Wakko took a deep breath and got to his feet, but at that moment a pained, angry yell stopped all three. Recognizing Kay's voice, Yakko almost ran to help her but stopped himself. His first and only priority was getting his siblings to safety. He turned back to them and did all he could to put on a brave face.

"It's okay, sibs," he said, trying to hide the tremor in his voice. "We'll go get help and it'll be okay."

Just as he spoke, there was a distant but loud crash followed by more yelling that sounded even more frantic.

"No!" Wakko gasped. Without a moment's hesitation he yanked his arm away from Yakko and took off toward the sounds.

"Wakko, no!" Yakko yelled, but he was already out of sight. Yakko felt sick with panic; his brother was already weak from his injury and the stress of the situation was wearing him out fast. If he tried to fight this maniac… Collecting himself, Yakko turned to his sister.

"Stay here!" he ordered, then ran after as fast as he could, not bothering to stay quiet this time. The sounds of struggling grew louder as he reached the back of the building and he quickly darted behind some crates. Once he peeked around to see if the coast was clear, his heart skipped a beat. A dark hooded figure was holding Kay by her wrists, making her gasp as he twisted them. Tears were flowing down her face as she looked up.

"H-how could you… do this?" she gasped. "My… my dad…"

The figure twisted them again, making her cry out in pain.

"He was a useless half wit."

The gravelly voice made Yakko's fur stand on end. It continued, growing more and more twisted with hate.

"After his mind went for good, he was worthless. He wouldn't appreciate my talents… no one would. Even you wouldn't. Like father like daughter."

Kay clenched her fists, her eyes flashing with anger. She lashed out and hit the figure's shoulder, knocking the hood away. Yakko froze, almost forgetting to breathe in his shock. He could only see the back of the head, but he could also see what was unmistakably toon fur.

"He was your CREATOR!" Kay yelled. "Those toons were your people!"

The mysterious toon snarled, sounding like an animal.

"THEY RUINED ME!" he roared. "They ALL ruined me!"

He flung her toward a nearby wall, and Yakko winced as she cried out. She fell to the floor and clutched her arm, trembling. Almost that same second, Wakko suddenly leaped from the other side of the room and stood in front of her. The fur on his neck stood straight up as he snarled up at the stranger.

"Leave her alone!"

The toon stared for a moment, then laughed and Yakko's heart almost stopped as he grabbed his brother by the collar and yanked him off the ground, prompting a yelp of pain. Kay started to stumble to her feet, but the strange toon planted a foot on her chest, holding her down.

"No! Please, don't hurt him!" she gasped. The stranger chuckled.

"I already did."

Yakko's vision filled with red, and without a second thought he jumped out and charged forward.

"Let go of him!" he yelled. A hand lashed out and hit his shoulder, knocking him down. Kay gasped and started struggling, her face desperate.

"Stop, you crazy bastard!" she shrieked. Yakko pushed himself up and looked frantically at his brother. Wakko didn't seem to notice; his teeth were clenched and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. The strange toon pulled out the gun from earlier, his eyes flashing red.

"Won't miss this time," he said in a menacing tone. But just as he pointed it, a black hand suddenly snatched the gun. Yakko realized the hand was on the end of his brother's tail. Wakko groaned, sweating even more as he strained. The stranger snarled as the gun was wrenched away and flew across the room. He shook the small toon violently in his grip.

"You little…" he hissed.

WHAM!

The stranger's eyes bugged out as he froze in place. After a few moments, he dropped face first to the ground. Yakko's jaw dropped open; Dot stood there with a huge mallet firmly in her grip. She smirked at him.

"You didn't say please."

Her face suddenly fell and Yakko followed her gaze to their brother. He was lying still on the floor, eyes closed. His heart pounding, Yakko scrambled over and gently picked him up. A small wave of relief came as he found that he was breathing, and wasn't bleeding again. Dot watched anxiously as Yakko ruffled Wakko's hair.

"Mmm…"

He stirred and nestled closer to Yakko's chest.

"Yakko," he mumbled. "I'm… tired…"

Yakko smiled as he cradled his brother. He was okay.

"It's okay," he sad softly. "You just wore yourself out. Go to sleep, you'll be okay."

A clicking sound made his head snap up; Kay stood over the strange toon, breathing heavily as she pointed the toon gun at his head. The look on her face was terrifying. Yakko quickly pulled Dot toward him with his other hand, turning her away. Kay slowly looked up at him, then back down. Her hand began shaking hard as long seconds passed.

"AGHHH!"

As the wild scream escaped her, she threw the weapon across the room and slammed her fists against the floor as she dropped to her knees. She stayed crumpled on the floor, her shoulders shaking. Too startled to move, Yakko stared until he felt Dot slip out from under his arm. She slowly walked over to Kay and hugged her. The young woman looked up, startled. After a moment, a small smile tugged at her face and she returned the hug. After a while, Dot gently tugged her arm and helped her stand. Kay picked her up and limped over to Yakko.

"Think we should go?" she asked hoarsely, holding out a hand.

Grinning, Yakko shifted his deeply sleeping brother to one arm and grabbed it, letting her pull him up.

"Thought you'd never ask."

**When I posted the first chapter to this story last May, I never imagined it would come this far. Twenty-two chapters and almost eight months later, this has become the longest story I have ever written. Thus it is with some sadness that I tell you the next chapter will be the final one. Thank you all so much for your encouragement and words of kindness, which kept me going. I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I've been working at this for so long and was anxious not to disappoint you. I'm sorry if this was a letdown in any way, and I hope I've done well enough. I'll see you all for the last chapter soon. God Bless!**


	23. Family

**I'd like to begin by saying how very sorry I am that it's taken so long for me to update. Inspiration came slow, and that annoying old RL stepped in. I hope this final chapter answers your questions and is a worthy ending for all my awesome readers! I'm sorry if this is disappointing in any way, and hope you enjoy it. Right then, on with the final chapter!**

…

_**Dangerous Toon Apprehended: Burbank Breathes Easier**_

Yakko couldn't help smiling as he read the article again; as long as he lived he'd never get tired of looking at it.

"So what's it say?" Dot asked eagerly as she tried to read over his shoulder. "Are there pictures? Are we in any? Are they good?"

Yakko couldn't help rolling his eyes.

Some things never change.

"Keep it down," he said. "Wakko's still asleep."

Dot immediately looked toward the hall.

"Should I check on him again?"

She made herself sound indifferent, but Yakko could see through it easily.

"I don't think a lot's changed in five minutes, sis," he said, smirking. Dot froze for a moment, then shrugged.

"I forgot," she said. Yakko raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, sure ya did."

She glared at him and was about to shoot something back when a yawn came from the hallway. Both turned to see Wakko plodding in, blinking sleepily.

"Did what?" he mumbled.

Yakko immediately stood and walked over.

"Hey, sib. What're you doing up?"

His brother glared through a barely stifled yawn.

"I'm bored," he complained. "I can walk, y' know."

As he spoke, he wobbled slightly on his feet. Yakko couldn't help grinning.

"Sure, but you heard the doc," he said. "You gotta take it easy."

Wakko pouted, but didn't argue as he trudged to the couch and sat down. Dot began looking him over right away, squinting at his face and checking his forehead.

"Dot, I'm not sick," he said, smiling slightly. "I'm just tired."

"Someone with a brain'll be the judge of that, thank you very much," she shot back.

Yakko couldn't help grinning at that. Just then there was a knock on the door. Dot quickly jumped up and ran to answer it, much to Wakko's obvious relief. Yakko smirked and ruffled his cap.

"It's just cause she loves ya," he said. His brother glanced up at him.

"Ever wonder what she'd be like if she hated us?"

Yakko instantly shuddered.

"I try not to," he muttered.

"Hi!"

At the sound of their sister's excited greeting, both guys looked up to see Kay enter the tower. She looked tired and her left arm was in a sling, but she was smiling and there was a kind of lightness about her that they'd never seen before.

"Hi yourself!" she chuckled as she knelt down and returned Dot's hug with her good arm. Wakko jumped up, but stumbled. Yakko quickly placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him and both smiled widely as Kay walked up to the couch.

"Danny wanted to come too, but his firm's working with the indictment," she said softly. Yakko's ears pricked; he knew she was talking about the toon who attacked them. She never referred to him by name.

"What're they gonna do?" he asked, glancing at his wide-eyed siblings. Kay smiled, but it was bitter.

"He's been tied to all the attacks," she said. "Even Tia's. He framed my dad to get rid of him. When he couldn't get work, he blamed other toons. And me. I guess my dad still talked about Mom and me… before his mind went."

The Warners stared with wide eyes as she continued.

"If a creator has something wrong in the head, it can affect the toons he creates. It can even make them insane, and when that happens…"

She sighed heavily.

"The only option is to erase them. They're just too dangerous."

Despite the implications of those words, Yakko was startled to find that he could only feel relief. That monster would never threaten his family again. Kay sighed, shaking her head as she sat down.

"I almost wish I could feel sorry for him," she said softly, almost to herself. "But I'm just relieved."

After a moment, Wakko suddenly spoke.

"Then… that's not bad?" he asked in a small voice. Kay blinked and looked at him, then smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No," she said gently. "It's not bad."

After a moment, Dot slowly tugged on her sleeve.

"What're you gonna do now?" she asked. Kay smiled slightly and shifted her arm.

"Well, this is my last case," she said, then her smile grew until it was wider than they'd yet seen.

"I'm reapplying to my art school here. To finish my animation degree."

Both guys winced as their sister squealed and jumped up to hug her.

"Are you gonna work here?" she demanded excitedly. "Are ya?"

Kay laughed as she affectionately tugged the girl's ears.

"I'll have to actually finish school first. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of chances to play with my hair."

Yakko grinned widely and looked at his brother, who was smiling too. The relief on his face was evident as he walked over to the girls and hugged Kay.

"Thanks," he said softly, his voice quivering slightly. The young woman looked at him, then smiled tenderly and ruffled his hair.

"You too, kiddo," she said gently.

Yakko felt his eyes well up, but before he could wipe them away, Kay looked up and saw him. He gulped, but she just smiled and held out her hand. Yakko walked over and shook it, relieved that she was willing to indulge his pride. He took a breath to speak, but Wakko yawned loudly, making everyone look at him.

"M' not tired," he mumbled. Kay chuckled and stood up.

"I can tell. Anyway, I know I am, so I better head home."

Yakko couldn't help smirking at her tact.

She might be half as good as me.

He walked up beside his siblings as Kay stood up.

"Thanks," he said. "For everything."

The young woman looked at him for a moment, then smiled warmly.

"You're welcome," she said. "And thank you."

After she left, Yakko turned to his brother, who was wobbling as he tried to stay standing. He placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You look pretty wiped."

"I don't wanna go t' bed," Wakko whined as Dot rolled her eyes. Yakko smiled down at his little brother before lifting him on his back.

"Okay, bud."

He carried Wakko to the couch and sat down, putting an arm around him as he nestled into his side. Dot followed and sat on Yakko's other side, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Hey, Yakko?" she asked softly. "You think Mom and Dad would've liked her?"

Yakko looked at her, wondering where that question had come from. He smiled, but before he could reply Wakko yawned softly and looked up.

"They do," he said, looking strangely serious.

His siblings instantly looked at him, and he smiled. Yakko felt his eyes well up, but not from sadness this time. smiling, he put an arm around his brother and sister and hugged them as close as he could.

No one spoke as all three held each other; there was no need to. They were together, loved.

A family.

THE END

**Wow. I actually did it. After almost ten months and twenty-three chapters, my first long fanfiction has come to an end. I'm a little sad to be saying goodbye to this story, but to be honest I'm pretty much burned out. Best to end on a good note than force it further. I want to thank all you wonderful readers for your follows, your favorites, and your reviews. Your kind words and encouragement are what kept me going, and I'm so grateful. Again, I apologize if you were disappointed in any way, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. What I do next depends on when inspiration comes calling again. God Bless, and thank you all so much! G'night, everybody!**


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